Chapter 5 – Bone Demon, Mist Sprite

The next day.

As dawn was just breaking, probably around 5:30 in the morning, Xiao Wuwang slowly opened his eyes. It was likely due to the biological clock he had maintained in his previous life—once it reached this hour, he simply couldn’t sleep any longer.

He didn’t laze around either. After stretching his limbs, he briefly rinsed his mouth, then opened a pack of instant noodles and began biting into the dry noodle block.

Without hot water to soften it, the noodle block naturally didn’t taste good, but Xiao Wuwang didn’t mind. He chewed it piece by piece and swallowed it down.

The environments he had experienced in his previous life were far harsher than this. Not going hungry was already considered a great stroke of luck, so a minor inconvenience like this was nothing to him.

Of course, if conditions allowed, he would have preferred cooked food, as the meals he prepared himself were not only more delicious but also more effective.

But at the time, he had been in a hurry and hadn’t managed to grab a pot. Even if he had one now, there was no fire, and trying to start a fire by rubbing sticks together would be too time-consuming and not worth the effort.

“Crack, crackle…”

Xiao Wuwang bit into the noodle block piece by piece. The texture was poor, but he still needed to eat his fill, as today’s workload would be heavy, and he had to ensure he had enough stamina.

In the end, Xiao Wuwang ate three noodle blocks, three sausages, an apple, and drank a few mouthfuls of water before finally feeling full.

After finishing breakfast, the time had reached 6 o’clock. By then, Xiao Wuwang was already standing in front of the locomotive, his gaze fixed intently on the road ahead.

Because every day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. was the time for treasure chests to respawn, especially today—the first day the Survival World had opened—the respawn rate of treasure chests was at its highest.

He had no intention of missing this opportunity to collect treasure chests.

Outside the train was a wilderness shrouded in mist, with visibility limited to only 20 meters around the train. If he wasn’t careful, he could easily miss a treasure chest. After all, the train could only move forward, not backward, and once missed, a treasure chest would be lost forever.

Suddenly, a faint, peculiar glow flickered in the mist ahead. The light was very dim, and one could easily overlook it if not paying attention.

But the experienced Xiao Wuwang knew that glow was emitted by a treasure chest!

Without hesitation, he immediately pulled the brake to its maximum.

“Creak!” Accompanied by a sharp, piercing sound of metal grinding, the dilapidated locomotive shook violently, gradually slowing down.

“…Clatter, clatter!”

Finally, the train came to a complete stop.

Xiao Wuwang immediately jumped off and, near the edge of his vision range at the rear of the train, he indeed spotted a chest. If he had braked even a moment later, the treasure chest would have disappeared into the mist.

Once a treasure chest vanished into the mist, it would shatter and break down, disappearing completely.

As he approached, Xiao Wuwang could see that the glow emanating from the treasure chest was actually silvery-white.

This was—

A Silver Treasure Chest!

In Xiao Wuwang’s understanding, treasure chests were ranked from lowest to highest as follows: Wooden Treasure Chest, Black Iron Treasure Chest, Bronze Treasure Chest, Silver Treasure Chest, Golden Treasure Chest, and Diamond Treasure Chest.

The first treasure chest often came with certain bonuses, but according to Xiao Wuwang’s expectations, obtaining a Black Iron Treasure Chest would have been good enough. A Bronze Treasure Chest would have been considered very lucky. Yet, unexpectedly, he had directly been rewarded with a Silver Treasure Chest. How could this not delight him?

He quickly walked over, picked up the treasure chest, and was about to head back when suddenly, a low growl reached his ears.

“Hmm?”

“A Mist Sprite?”

Within the mist, there are two types of monsters: the Bone Demons, which hold little reclaim value, and the Mist Sprites, whose entire bodies are treasure troves.

Bone Demons are mindless, emaciated humanoid monsters with sickly grayish-white skin. Slaying them yields nothing of value, yet their numbers in the mist are countless and endless. Once you enter the mist, an endless stream of Bone Demons will attack until they devour you completely. Therefore, under normal circumstances, no one would willingly enter the mist, no matter how strong they are.

Mist Sprites, however, are different. They are akin to spirit beasts or divine beasts in fantasy novels. Their flesh and blood are rich in energy, and consuming them over time can enhance one’s Base Attributes. Even the inedible parts—such as their skin, fur, scales, armor, horns, teeth, and claws—are exceptional materials for crafting. Equipment forged from these materials often possesses one or even multiple Traits.

Given their precious nature, Mist Sprites are naturally formidable. The fact that no Bone Demons appear where Mist Sprites are found speaks volumes.

At present, Xiao Wuwang couldn’t even handle the lowest-level Bone Demon, let alone a Mist Sprite.

But as someone who had experienced Rebirth, Xiao Wuwang knew of a hidden benefit here: during the first three days of the Novice Protection Period, the strength of Mist Sprites was sealed by 99%!

After the seal, a Mist Sprite’s strength was roughly equivalent to that of an elite soldier among ordinary humans.

And this was the perfect opportunity to hunt Mist Sprites!

With Combat Mastery, Xiao Wuwang’s strength was no weaker than that of a sealed Mist Sprite. Moreover, he wielded a level 1 dagger with the Sharp Trait, further increasing his chances of success.

When Constitution was still weak, a level 1 dagger with the Sharp Trait held more practical value in combat than a level 2 Light Steel Axe.

At this thought, a flicker of determination and excitement flashed in Xiao Wuwang’s eyes.

He stored the treasure chest into his Portable Space, then retrieved the Black Iron Dagger and cautiously made his way toward the direction of the roaring sound.

As his figure vanished into the mist, the surrounding light instantly dimmed further, reducing visibility to just five or six meters. Beyond that, everything was a hazy gray, making it impossible to distinguish direction.

Xiao Wuwang hadn’t gone far when a dark shadow gradually emerged from the mist.

As the shadow drew closer, it revealed itself to be a bear-like Demonic Beast, standing two meters tall, larger than a fully grown water buffalo, with a deep reddish-brown coat—a Crimson Flame Bear!

If not for the seal, the Crimson Flame Bear could unleash terrifying fire-based energy, making it impossible for Xiao Wuwang to approach.

But now, its flames were compressed within its body. Not only was its strongest trump card rendered useless, but its Weak Point was also magnified—sluggish movement and slow reactions.

Upon recognizing it as a Crimson Flame Bear, Xiao Wuwang’s eyes filled with nothing but excitement, and a plan to slay it immediately formed in his mind.

“Roar!”

The Crimson Flame Bear clearly noticed Xiao Wuwang’s presence. With a roar, it slammed its massive paw onto the ground and charged toward him.

Xiao Wuwang focused intently. As the bear’s giant paw descended, he nimbly sidestepped, evading the attack.

Simultaneously, his left hand grabbed the long fur on the Crimson Flame Bear’s body, and with a light leap, he vaulted directly onto its back.

Naturally, the Crimson Flame Bear sensed the anomaly on its back. It thrashed wildly, lunging forward and backward while forcefully leaping repeatedly, trying to shake off this pesky human.

Yet Xiao Wuwang clung to its back as if rooted, his hands gripping its fur tightly. No matter how the Crimson Flame Bear thrashed, he refused to be thrown off.

Perhaps realizing it couldn’t shake him off this way, the bear gradually slowed its movements. Seizing the moment, Xiao Wuwang swiftly crawled forward two steps, reaching its head.

Timing his move perfectly, he wrapped one arm around the bear’s neck while his other hand, gripping the Black Iron Dagger, thrust forward. The dagger plunged straight into one of the Crimson Flame Bear’s eyes.

Pfft!

The sharp blade instantly sank into the eye socket.

Xiao Wuwang knew this alone wouldn’t be enough to kill the bear. With a forceful twist, he used the dagger’s cutting edge to drive it deeper, pushing until the entire blade was buried in the eye socket.

Excruciating pain sent the bear into a frenzy of uncontrollable writhing. Not daring to linger, Xiao Wuwang pushed off with his feet, leaping lightly from the bear’s back and landing steadily on the ground.

The strike had already pierced the Crimson Flame Bear’s brain. After a few ragged breaths of furious thrashing, its massive body suddenly stiffened and collapsed with a boom, dead on the spot!

Xiao Wuwang stood at a distance, warily watching the fallen bear. Only after confirming it had truly ceased breathing did he quickly approach, pull out the dagger, and store the entire carcass in his Portable Space.

Wooo…

As the Crimson Flame Bear’s presence vanished, a chilling wind began to stir within the space.