Chapter 91 90. The First Mission: Survive!

Shane cleared his throat and said, "Hello, host, I'm your system. How are you?"

This time, he didn't even bother speaking his number. It didn't matter whether his host knew about his system number. For an ordinary man, all the systems would be the same.

Suddenly, the host's voice came to a halt as Shane saw the youth frowning. Then the young man asked, "Why am I here?"

"Did you remember what you were doing before you came here?"

The host made a thoughtful expression as his frown deepened. "I was climbing stairs."

Shane felt his sentence stuck in his throat. He closed his mouth and thought for a moment. How did his host not even realize he had died while walking down the stairs? There could only be one possibility:

The host was probably one of the unlucky people to encounter an apocalypse in the middle of climbing the stairs.

He silently glanced at the reason for death and found his guess was correct. He sighed, "You died because of a sudden outbreak of an apocalypse. Your body turned into a zombie and started biting into other humans."

The host shuddered as he said, "Why did you have to tell me that, honestly!?"

"You asked me about it."

The young man pursed his lips and changed the topic. "By the way, my name is Samuel, not 'host'!"

"Okay, Samuel," Shane specifically pressed for the name and continued, "let's get going. Otherwise, we're going to be late."

"What late? What should I do?" The man paused and frowned. "No, more importantly, why should I follow your words? I'm not your servant!"

Shane sighed and sent the world setting to his host as he patiently said, "You'll get a chance at living. Simple."

"I don't want to live again."

"Then you can switch to a wish-fulfilling program instead!" Shane tried to be as cheerful as possible, trying not to make his host run away and be in denial on the first day of the exam. "You'll only get one chance, though."

Samuel thought for a good while before raising his head. "Where's the proof or the written document for this? Why should I trust you?"

Now Shane was getting a headache. He pressed his finger against his forehead as he took a deep breath.

Calm down.

It was just the average host, a human being.

He should have some passion for his fellow humans!

After hypnotizing himself for a while, he said, "I'll send you one. A minute, please!"

Being a system, they already had the written contract document with his signature and the official stamp attached at the very end. This document contained two pages of written rules and points explaining everything the host should see in the mission.

It was just that most hosts would be too silly or scared even to remember there should be a written document of this. Shane quickly found it and passed it on to the young man through the message box.

After a while, Samuel let out a satisfied hum and said, "Okay, I have also finished reading the world setting. Where are the other hosts?"

"That's where our first mission comes in!" Shane paused and sent out the first mission details. "We must head to the meeting area while surviving in the wild."

"What does it mean?"

Shane also wanted to know. Was this place far from here that they would have to spend a specific time surviving it?

He didn't know, but he knew they would find out soon. He said nothing and pointed out a direction. "Go East."

"Okay." This time, Samuel was unexpectedly obedient. Shane stared at the radar screen to see if there were any monsters around, but it was all empty. It was written in the mission description that they should see the radar for directions. Only the systems could use the radar function.

That was how Shane was confident about the direction, as mentioned on the radar. But aside from that, there wasn't anything on the screen.

It was almost empty.

He frowned.

The host walked for hours through the dense and dark forest just like that, but they still hadn't reached the place. Samuel's stomach growled.

The young man covered his stomach. His face flushed with a trace of embarrassment. "I'm hungry. Can I buy something to eat? Do I even have enough money?"

Shane looked at the host's stats and sighed. Since they had just started, they didn't get to perform any action to please their audience. So, of course, Shane wouldn't be able to receive any gifts from the live stream. Of course, his source of income was also the spell he had sold previously.

So he was pretty loaded.

This was what was meant by survival on the first mission. The bald man and other instructors at the institute probably knew the hosts wouldn't receive any money at the starting stage. So that was why they set up such a strange task that didn't have any monsters around to kill.

"Let's find something to eat first."

Samuel nodded and started looking around. He suddenly found something that looked much like an apple, but didn't at the same time. Its color was close to blood red, slightly protruding from another angle.

His eyes lit up as he walked over. He was about to reach out to that fruit when Shane quickly yelled, "Be careful! Don't touch it!"

Samuel's hands retracted as he narrowed his eyes at the fruit. "Why?"

"Because," Shane stared at the red dot that appeared for the first time on the radar, "it's a monster."

Samuel stared at that strange thing without blinking. He stared, stared, and stared.

After a while, he broke out in laughter, so much that his stomach started to hurt. He dramatically wiped nonexistent tears from the corners of his eyes and said, "You're too funny system. It looks like someone's butt, an ugly one at that."

"Can you focus already?" Shane felt a splitting headache as he pressed his fingers against his forehead. He massaged that area for a bit. "Run, quickly!"

Samuel turned his heels and started walking in the other direction. He sighed, "Are we there yet?"

"Not yet."

"When are we going to reach?"

Shane pursed his lips. He wished he knew about it. "Just continue walking."

"You also have no idea about it, do you?"

Shane again remained silent as he changed the topic. "We should find you something to eat."

"Wow." Samuel scoffed and crossed his arms on his chest. "Good going. You changed the topic, so abruptly."

Shane ignored those words and said, "Go and find other edible fruits nearby. I can still confirm whether they're safe or not."

Like that, Samuel covered the entire area, but except for a leaf, he found nothing that could be eaten. This particular plant's fruit was bitter, and its leaves were even worse. He didn't want to taste it.

His stomach growled again.

Ah, never mind. He would feed himself a classic cuisine after passing through this world.

He ate a bite of that leaf, only to have his nose wrinkled. A bitter and sour taste filled his mouth, making his stomach twist into knots. He nearly vomited his guts as he patted his chest and somehow swallowed one bite into his stomach.

Then he reluctantly glanced at the leaf and placed it deep in his pockets. Out of sight, out of mind.

At least his stomach stopped growling. That leaf could be used as a last resort. He thought about it beautifully, imagining that he could continue with the help of that leaf. It was just that he never thought that a row of fierce-looking monsters with the faces of wolves suddenly blocked his path.

He froze as he stared at the monsters in vigilance. They started growling as they sniffed. Saliva dripped from the corners of their mouths.

Samuel soon realized why they stopped him from continuing. They were here after smelling that leaf, weren't they?

He had an urge to throw it away, but he knew he couldn't. He only had this one leaf to fill his stomach! The plant from where he got this had already withered to dust.

The original plant was strange enough to destroy itself once a leaf was broken apart. He wasn't sure if he could find another plant soon enough.

He pursed his lips as he thought about escaping when he heard Shane's voice.

"Eat it." Shane leaned back and continued to watch through the screen. "They were able to find you because of the smell emanating from the broken leaf."

Samuel's face changed colors as he shook his head. "I will never eat this thing unless it's an emergency!"

"Then stay here and die." Shane reminded the host kindly. "Didn't you see their faces? They're all wolf monsters and can probably run faster than humans."

Samuel hesitated for a moment as he gritted his teeth and reached out to the leaf. He quickly grabbed it from his pocket. He was about to put it in his mouth when a monster suddenly leaped onto him.