Chapter 3: The God of the Altar
With a twenty-kilometer journey ahead, Lin Huai could not move quickly while pushing the heavy coffin. At a pace of twenty minutes per kilometer, it would take her about six point six hours to complete today’s task—roughly seven hours in total.
The Newbie Protection Period had one major benefit: safety. However, the price of that safety was finding very few supply boxes and resources along the way.
On the floating light screen, there was a public chat lobby where all the players in Zone 444 could gather and talk. A person could gather a great deal of useful information from their conversations. To stay informed in her previous life, Lin Huai had made it a daily habit to check the chat group whenever she had a free moment.
After taking only a few steps with the pushcart, she brought up the screen to see who had ended up in Zone 444 and whether there was anyone she recognized. After all, she seemed to remember passing through Zone 444 during her past life as well. She did not remember how long she had stayed back then; she used to spend just a few days in each zone before fleeing to the next, so much so that she eventually lost track of all the places she had visited.
[Little Red Eyes]: Oh no, I pulled a toddler’s wiggle car from the vehicle box! Even if I twist my legs off, there’s no way I can wiggle twenty kilometers, right?!
[Proud Little Bird]: At least you get to ride yours! I got a supermarket shopping cart—I have to push the whole thing!
[Snow Mochi]: Hahaha, I should change my name to Goddess of Luck! I pulled a Porsche!
[Wild Handsome Guy]: Ahhh, a Porsche?! I’m so jealous! Big Sister, please look after me! Can I take it for a spin?
[Fastest Hand at SF Express]: Haha, I’m the real God of Luck here! Thanks to my professional bonus, I got the delivery van I know best, hehehe.
[Starving Blue Knight]: Mine might only be an electric scooter, but I can drift around corners and enjoy the breeze. Isn’t that way better than a Porsche?
[Dragon Rising from the Sea]: Your starting vehicle doesn’t matter all that much. I’ve already checked into it: vehicles can be upgraded, so everyone will get a fair shot. Besides, players with high-end starting vehicles might run into severe fuel and energy problems down the line, so be careful.
Lin Huai glanced at the name, raising an eyebrow. There really was someone she knew.
Dragon Rising from the Sea—the top player in Zone 444 in her previous life.
Back then, when she had taken refuge in this zone, Chen Feng’s bounty on her head had reached here as well. But Dragon Rising from the Sea had canceled the bounty immediately. He declared that private vendettas were strictly forbidden in Zone 444, stating that anyone who wanted to hunt another player down had to take it outside his territory.
Thanks to his sense of justice, Lin Huai had earned a rare chance to catch her breath, and she had always felt grateful to him. She had assumed he only made those rules later on after rising to power to keep order. She had not realized he was genuinely kind and upright right from the start.
However, some players could not stand someone acting like a saint and began to complain in the chat.
[Snow Mochi]: Hmph, you’re just jealous that I got a Porsche.
[Don’t Run a Fever Everywhere]: Exactly! You talk like you know everything. I hate people who try to lecture everyone else on how to play the game.
[Goose Goose Goose]: Um… could I ask softly, my starter pack didn’t come with any water. I’m so thirsty right now… does anyone have some to spare?
[Dragon Rising from the Sea]: I have some. I can trade you a bottle. The game includes a trading system where players can exchange supplies.
[Mouthful of Murky Water]: Speaking of items, why are there copper coins and cinnabar powder in my starter pack? What are they for? Can you eat them?
[Cefazolin with Wine]: I got those too! No idea what they do—maybe vehicle upgrade parts?
[Jasmine Tea is a Bit Salty]: @Dragon Rising from the Sea, Big Brother, you seem to know everything! What is cinnabar for?
[Dragon Rising from the Sea]: Open your screen settings, everyone. There’s a scan feature in there. Once you turn it on, scan your items and their details will appear. I didn’t get copper coins, but I have cinnabar. The description says it’s a multi-use material for drawing talismans, warding off evil, and slaying ghosts.
[Steamed Bun]: Huh?! Ghosts?! I’m terrified of ghosts! What am I supposed to do?!
[Kindergarten Boss]: Can I trade a bottle of water for a slice of three-color sponge cake? This dry cake is choking me, I can’t swallow it without water…
Lin Huai silently observed the screen. For now, there was no valuable information to gather; having lived through this once before, she already knew all the beginner basics.
She closed the screen and kept moving forward. Fortunately, after walking only a few more paces, she spotted a small pile of stones arranged beside the road.
Her heart leaped, and she hurried over to take a closer look.
It was an altar!
By offering sacrifices to the God of the Altar, a player could receive valuable supply boxes in return. Generally speaking, as long as the offering was sincere and generous, the god’s gifts were quite good.
She had not expected her luck to improve so much after moving from Zone 888 to Zone 444. It seemed that she had never been cursed with bad luck after all; the number eight had simply clashed with her, while four was her true lucky number!
The altar was tiny, built from just a few small stones stacked together.
Lin Huai walked over, knelt down, and leaned in to peer through the small stone arch. Sure enough, there was a stone statue inside.
The carving showed a young boy holding a human heart in his hand. His face carried an irritated scowl, and his fingers looked ready to crush the heart to pieces.
If an ordinary novice saw such a creepy and terrifying statue, their first reaction would be pure terror. They would never think to worship it, missing a golden opportunity.
Lin Huai, however, smiled with genuine delight. Without a moment of hesitation, she took out all her edible supplies—four bottles of water and three small loaves of bread—and laid them carefully before the altar. Then, she bowed respectfully.
“Lord of the Altar, these are all the supplies I own. Please grant me your blessing so that I may survive!”
The moment she finished speaking, an impatient boyish voice echoed from deep within the stones.
“Hmph. Seeing how poor you are, yet still willing to give me every bite of food you have, I suppose I can reluctantly grant you my blessing!”
As the words faded, a fragrant sandalwood box with a yellow paper talisman stuck to its lid quietly materialized in front of the altar. At the exact same time, the stone altar vanished completely from the roadside.
Lin Huai’s eyes sparkled. A yellow talisman box!
Yellow Talisman Box: Yields extra basic resources, guarantees materials for warding off evil spirits, offers a chance to obtain enchanted equipment, and has a small chance to grant an upgrade card. Peel off the paper talisman on the lid to open the chest.
Before her death in her previous life, Lin Huai had only ever seen broken wooden boxes, yellow talisman boxes, green ghost boxes, and bone-crushing boxes. Higher-tier chests—such as profound stone chests or icy jade boxes—were things she had only heard top-tier players talk about.
Being able to open a yellow talisman box during the Newbie Protection Period was a massive head start. In her past life, over the entire month of the beginner phase, she had only managed to find two yellow talisman boxes; every other chest she came across had been a plain, broken wooden box.
