Xu Xin woke up in a jungle.

The noisy insect sounds all around made it impossible to sleep. He suddenly sat up, only to find himself lying on a square stone slab surrounded by dense jungle.

"???"

Xu Xin's mind was still in a daze. He rubbed his eyes, feeling sore all over as if he had slept on the floor all night.

"Is this for real?" After sitting there in confusion for a long time, Xu Xin finally regained his senses and accepted the fact that this was not a dream.

Last night, he should have taken off his clothes and crawled into bed as usual. How did he end up here, wearing a T-shirt and shorts he had never seen before?

Was he kidnapped?

Just as he was lost in wild thoughts, a voice in his mind suddenly jolted him awake.

[Welcome to the Survival World. Here, your only goal is to stay alive. Forget everything you once had and strive to survive. We have prepared a great gift for all newcomers – a treehouse. Remember, never abandon your treehouse. It is your only refuge.]

[You have received 1 Treehouse Seed. Please choose a suitable location to plant it within three days. Once planted, the treehouse cannot be moved.]

[You are currently in the Newbie Protection Period. Survivors will not be attacked by creatures for three days. Please plant your treehouse as soon as possible.]

What? Treehouse? Treehouse seed? Newbie Protection Period?

Xu Xin sat on the stone slab, still trying to process everything, when suddenly a ball of light appeared before his eyes. Instinctively, he reached out to touch it, and a walnut-sized seed appeared in his hand.

[Treehouse Seed: Can grow into a small treehouse, providing the most basic survival guarantee for survivors. Remember to find fertile soil!]

The massive amount of information took Xu Xin quite a while to digest.

Is this a game world? Why is there a newbie gift package? And what's with the voice in his head?

Xu Xin used the most primitive method – pinching himself with his fingernails. He could feel the distinct pain.

The earlier prompt mentioned "all newcomers", which means there must be quite a few people in the same situation as him. This place is like a survival game where everyone has to survive.

If they fail, will they die?

Xu Xin wasn't sure, but he didn't dare to try. He got off the stone slab, stood up and stretched his body. There was nothing unusual about his body, and his energy levels were quite high.

He began to examine the seed in his hand.

The seed was pale yellow overall, about the size of a walnut, and not light in weight – basically equivalent to an egg

.

How could such a small seed turn into a treehouse? He wondered how long it would take to grow after planting.

The prompt said to find fertile soil. Was that just a joke, or does the fertility of the soil actually affect the growth of the treehouse?

Xu Xin instinctively looked down at the ground beneath his feet. Was the soil under his feet fertile or barren?

"What's the deal with this game?! Not even a newbie tutorial? Isn't this discouraging?" Xu Xin grumbled to himself. Being a frequent traveler, he wasn't too panicked. Plus, the mention of a three-day newbie protection period meant his current situation was relatively safe.

He didn't know who brought him here, but since he was already here, he had to figure out how to survive.

[Attempting to unlock Survival World Creator privileges]

The sudden voice made Xu Xin pause.

What now? What does this Creator privilege mean?

[Unlock failed. Attempting second unlock…]

[Unlock failed. Attempting third unlock…]

What's going on? Is there a system glitch?

Xu Xin suddenly became nervous. If he encountered a major bug at the beginning, what was the point of playing?

[Unlock failed. Attempting seventh unlock…]

It was already the seventh attempt. Xu Xin no longer expected to unlock any Creator privileges. He just hoped nothing would go wrong.

[Unlock failed. Granting partial Creator privileges: Item Identification]

It failed in the end, but… partial Creator privileges?

Xu Xin's eyes lit up. He had played sandbox games before and knew what Creator mode meant. It was basically an invincible mode with unlimited resources – essentially a built-in cheat mode for the game.

So it's the Item Identification function…

Xu Xin looked at the treehouse seed in his hand. The description of the seed was now different from before.

[Treehouse Seed: Can grow into a small treehouse, providing the most basic survival guarantee for survivors. When planted in barren soil, it can grow into a "Low Small Treehouse". When planted in normal soil, it can grow into a "Small Treehouse". When planted in fertile soil, it can grow into a "Tall Small Treehouse".]

So this is the Creator privilege: Item Identification? Not bad!

Xu Xin suddenly became excited. His gaze turned to the soil beneath his feet.

[Barren Soil (White): The most common type of soil, low in organic matter and other nutrients.]

Looking closely, the soil began to emit a faint white light.

He looked around at the surrounding land. With just a thought, the soil around him started to glow with a faint white light.

Looking at the description again, sure enough, they were all white quality.

He looked up at his surroundings.

[Stone Slab (White): Spawn point. Seems to have no use other than making survivors' bodies sore after sleeping. Can be broken with a chisel.]

[White Poplar (White): Common tree in the jungle. Can be chopped down for wood.]

[Amanita (White): Poisonous mushroom. You can eat it if you want to die.]

Hmm? Even the toxicity of fungi can be detected. This ability is quite something!

Xu Xin excitedly surveyed his surroundings, but to his disappointment, everything around was of white quality. Come to think of it, this was the spawn point. What good stuff could there be around the spawn point?

The current goal was to find fertile soil and plant the treehouse seed. Right now, he knew nothing. Perhaps all the functions of this world were in the treehouse. After all, didn't the earlier prompt say, [The treehouse is your only refuge]?

If it were Xu Xin without the Item Identification function unlocked, he might not have wasted time looking for fertile soil. After all, how would he know which soil was fertile and which was barren? But now, he had some confidence and couldn't give up.

Three days, and all under newbie protection, provided just the right guarantee for Xu Xin.

Having made up his mind, he put the walnut-sized seed into the pocket of his shorts. After carefully checking the stone slab and its surroundings to confirm there were no newbie tools, he set off on his journey.

"This world is so stingy, not even giving any newbie tools." Stepping on the fallen leaves on the ground, Xu Xin advanced in one direction. He didn't know where this direction would lead, but he couldn't just stay put.

With a thought, the Item Identification ability activated, and various objects around him began to glow white. Probably due to the newbie protection, apart from the sounds of insects, there were no other creatures in the jungle.

From his observation, the range of his Item Identification ability was very large. At least in this jungle where vision was obstructed, everything he could see, near or far, could emit light.

"Huh?" After walking for who knows how long, a flash of green entered Xu Xin's vision, perking him up. He quickly walked towards the direction emitting the green light.