I Built an Inn at the End of the World

Finding no rope in the toolbox, Qian Zhenzhen had to improvise. She picked up the sickle and went to the cabin's exterior wall to cut some slender vines.

"Caw~ caw~ caw~"

The crows roosting on the roof flew away with harsh cries as the system displayed new text:

[Opening Preparation (2): Clean the Inn

Please complete the following objectives quickly:

Clean exterior walls (0%)

Clean roof (0%)

Clean rooms (0%)

Clean attic (0%)

...

Rewards:

Inn upgrade [requires completion of "Opening Preparation (1)"]

Koi Vouchers *18]

So, does this count as a task too?

Protected by work gloves, Zhenzhen faced the challenge bravely, swinging her sickle with renewed motivation.

When "Clean exterior walls" reached 51%, she stopped and returned to the pile of vines by the cabin entrance. Resting against the toolbox, she twisted rope and managed to weave two makeshift net bags—though she wasn't sure if they'd prove useful.

She glanced at her solar-powered watch lying on the box soaking up sunlight. It was two twenty-three in the afternoon, with only two or three hours until dark.

Considering the FF time limit, she focused on Task 1 with this plan:

Dig for stones.

Return to the cabin before dark, light a fire for illumination, then cut trees.

Qian Zhenzhen opened her backpack and ate some compressed rations, taking small sips from her water bottle. After replenishing herself, she hid her backpack in the toolbox, grabbed her military knife and watch, shouldered the vine rope nets, and set off with the pickaxe.

Earlier she had rushed ahead blindly, taking many wrong turns, but now with the map she could plan the shortest route.

Strawberries, big strawberries, sweet and fragrant big strawberries...

Qian Zhenzhen imagined their fresh taste from memory and quickened her pace.

Fallen leaves rustled beneath her feet.

Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy in slanting beams, illuminating tiny dust motes dancing in the air. Trees oozed crystalline drops of resin, their carefully crafted treasures releasing rich, unique fragrances.

Lush vegetation, gently flowing streams, tenacious wildflowers—everything was vibrant and full of life.

Of course, it would be even better without the roaming beasts and zombies.

The zombies had escaped from the bus and were now fighting with the wild beasts, each seeing the other as prey.

Having turned into zombies only half a day ago, they still retained most of their human features, Y City's unique badge still pinned to their clothes. Someone's loved ones somewhere would never receive news of them again.

Qian Zhenzhen felt sympathy, but only to that extent. Three years of living in the apocalypse had numbed her to such tragedies and hardened her heart.

She checked the system, confirmed she had the "Newbie Protection" FF active, and then continued forward.

Just as the system had promised, aggressive creatures ignored her. The beasts and zombies fought fiercely, completely unaware of her presence.

Even when she raised her pickaxe and struck the rocks with sharp clanging sounds, they showed no reaction.

Soon irregular stones and rock fragments piled up at her feet. Qian Zhenzhen leaned on her pickaxe, panting heavily as she tried to submit the task objective.

With her skill level and conditions, she couldn't produce proper stone blocks. She hoped this would suffice.

[You have collected quest item: Stone Materials ()]

[Submission failed! The current location is outside of bounds. Please return to a designated area to submit~]

It's a good thing she made those net bags!

Qian Zhenzhen felt pleased with her foresight. After massaging her numb hands and resting briefly, she continued breaking and digging stones.

By nearly five o'clock, she had gathered enough stone materials.

It was getting dark, and without lighting, walking in unknown places was dangerous. Worried about accidents, Qian Zhenzhen quickly organized the stones, putting large pieces in the net bags and wrapping smaller ones in her work apron.

On her way back, she found a wild chestnut tree and collected a few chestnut burrs.

By the time she reached the cabin, darkness had fallen completely.

Using her watch's small flashlight for illumination, she cleared an area in front of the cabin, made a circle with the stones she'd brought back, gathered dry branches and leaves, and lit a small campfire with her lighter.

[You have collected quest item: Stone Materials (10/10)]

[You have returned to in bounds. Would you like to submit the quest item "Stone Materials"?]

Qian Zhenzhen selected no, took out her tin can and filled it halfway with water, sprinkled in a packet of nutritional cereal, and placed it on a stone by the fire to heat—this would be her dinner tonight.

While it heated, she took the axe and saw to cut nearby trees. The big trees proved too difficult, so she chose ones as thick as her arm. After feeling one, she saw—Wood Materials ().

This meant she'd need to cut down over thirty small trees.

After finishing her cereal porridge, Qian Zhenzhen worked overtime to cut down seven more small trees. The campfire grew too dim to continue safely, and her watch's flashlight couldn't illuminate well enough for more work.

After laying out her sleeping bag on the vines, she wanted nothing more than to collapse into sleep. But thinking of tomorrow's breakfast, she forced herself to stay alert, cracking open the chestnut burrs and making small splits in the chestnuts before burying them in the ashes at the edge of the campfire.

Crackle and pop—the fire burned, sending tiny red sparks floating upward.

In the vast darkness, howls echoed from somewhere unknown. Wild beasts attracted by the firelight prowled around but dared not approach, growling briefly before leaving.

Qian Zhenzhen slept deeply until seven o'clock the next day after her watch had alarmed four times.

Just after crawling from her sleeping bag, she sneezed several times. The early autumn nights were cold, and she needed to clean up the cabin quickly to move indoors before catching a cold. As her body awakened, her stomach growled with hunger. She pushed aside the extinguished fire pit and found the steamed chestnuts—cooled now, with slightly charred shells. Though still somewhat sweet, they were dry like coarse sand in her mouth. After two big gulps of water and some dehydrated vegetables, her hunger finally eased. Only half the water remained in her 2200ml bottle, along with 9 packs of nutritional cereal, 4 bags of compressed rations, and 1 can of dehydrated vegetables. Food wasn't urgent, but they needed more clean water. After taking inventory of her backpack supplies, she did some warm-up exercises and prepared for today's plan: