Chapter 15: Petrification

"Eh?!"

Just as Ye Da was starting to panic...

The stone skin on the back of his hand began to recede, his skin returning to its previous smoothness and elasticity.

What was happening?

Ye Da felt as if he were hallucinating.

He stared at the stone skin that appeared and vanished on the back of his hand, nearly doubting his own eyes. For a moment, he was overcome by a sense of confusion—who am I, and where am I?

"Whimper..."

"Howl..."

While Ye Da was still puzzling over why the stone pattern on his hand had come and gone, the two wolf pups nearby began to whimper and even started tugging at his trouser leg with their teeth.

It seemed they were hungry.

Now that their mother was nowhere to be found, these two little creatures seemed to have taken Ye Da for their new mother.

"I'm not your mother, stop following me!"

Ye Da shook off the wolf cubs and hurried into the forest.

He hadn't forgotten why he'd come—he was here to find a treasure chest, not to nurse wolf pups!

Besides...

These two cubs had drunk their mother’s poisoned milk; Ye Da had no idea if they would even survive.

Seeing the mother wolf turn into a cluster of light orbs before his eyes had been cruel enough. If he were to witness these two little ones dissolve into light right in front of him, Ye Da doubted his heart could take it.

"Treasure chest..."

"Where is the chest?"

Once inside the small forest, Ye Da realized he’d overestimated his own skill at treasure hunting.

The woods were dim and shadowy; it was hard enough to see the path ahead, let alone locate any treasure chest.

He had no choice...

Once again, Ye Da put his analysis glasses to use.

East: [45 meters ahead, there is a python hidden in the grass. You probably don’t want to mess with it.]

West: [3,000 meters ahead, there is a cave rich in iron and stone ore. If you need minerals to upgrade your treehouse, this is a great spot.]

[PS: But be careful, the cave is inhabited by cannibals, several of whom are Black Iron Warriors of the first rank. If your strength is insufficient, it’s best not to risk it.]

Cannibals?

Ye Da’s heart skipped a beat at the westward prompt.

So this world contained not only survival players like himself, but also natives?

What did the natives here even look like?

Ye Da’s mind spun with possibilities.

He wanted to know what the local people looked like to determine whether or not he was still on Earth.

He had long suspected that this place might be some hidden corner of Earth—a remote island, an unknown mountain range, or some such place.

After all, Earth was vast, and there were plenty of uninhabited areas. Perhaps this was all part of some elaborate live broadcast, like a Hunger Games or Maze Runner scenario.

But if...

If the natives didn’t look like humans at all, but resembled creatures from "Avatar" or "E.T.," then Ye Da could be certain he was no longer on Earth.

Scientists had already discovered plenty of planets that might harbor intelligent life, but humans from different worlds, shaped by distinct environments and genetic chains, would surely look different.

Even on Earth, among the same species, people differed greatly from region to region—Black, White, Asian.

Even within the Asian population, there were countless distinct features.

The faces of Asians from different countries could look quite different, to say nothing of humans from other planets.

There was no way they could look exactly like Earthlings!

Moreover...

The prompt also mentioned that many of the cannibals were first-rank Black Iron Warriors. But what did that mean? Were they superior to ordinary people? Or was it some kind of military rank, like infantry, knights, or sergeants?

Since there was no way to answer that question for now, Ye Da decided not to dwell on it. He would check out the cave another time, if the opportunity arose.

For now...

He decided to see what lay in the other directions.

South: [35 meters ahead, inside a dead tree, there is actually a hidden treasure chest! If you can find that, you’re truly remarkable!]

North: [500 meters ahead lies a swamp, home to lush pasture grass and freshwater crocodiles lurking beneath the mud.]

Found it!

Once again, the analysis glasses proved their worth, instantly revealing the treasure chest’s location.

Ye Da hurried toward the spot indicated by the glasses, but to play it safe, he waved a dead branch he'd picked up, using it to probe the undergrowth for hidden dangers before advancing.

Even with the analysis glasses reducing the risk, there was no telling whether some venomous insect or snake might suddenly appear from another direction. If Ye Da carelessly stepped on one...

Getting poisoned out here would mean crying out to the heavens and the earth, but receiving no help from either!

So he swung the dead branch ahead of him, stacking the odds a little more in his favor.

After all, it never hurt to be cautious!

And sure enough...

After thirty-five steps, a dead tree appeared before him, its twisted, leafless branches reaching skyward, much like the gnarled jujube tree at someone’s doorstep.

A huge split ran down the trunk, as if lightning had struck it.

Inside, the hollow was pitch-black and filled with fallen leaves.

If it weren’t for the analysis glasses, Ye Da would never have found the chest in such a hidden spot amidst the woods—it would have been supernatural if he had!

"Knock knock!"

Ye Da rapped his knuckles against the trunk, testing how solid the tree was.

But as he struck the wood, the stone skin reappeared on the back of his hand, almost covering it entirely up to his knuckles.

At a glance, it looked as though Ye Da were wearing a fingerless grey glove.

"Why... has it appeared again?"

Ye Da stared at the stone skin, bewildered.

But as he relaxed his hand and examined the back of it, the grey skin gradually faded back under his flesh.

"Could it be..."

A spark of realization flashed in Ye Da's eyes. "The stone skin only appears when I exert strength?"

He quickly clenched his fist to test the theory.

Sure enough...

When Ye Da tensed his hand, the grey stone skin once more appeared over his knuckles.

Since the stone skin was numb to the touch, Ye Da tried lightly punching the dead tree to see if there was anything special about his petrified skin.

"Knock... boom!"

However...

The moment Ye Da’s fist lightly struck the trunk—

"What the hell?!"

He stared, dumbfounded, at the hole his punch had made in the tree.

He really hadn't used much strength—was the tree truly that brittle?

"Pop!"

Ye Da used his other hand, balled into a fist, to give the trunk a light tap.

This time, the trunk didn’t budge!

Instead, the rough bark scraped painfully against his knuckles.