Starting With a Reef [Global Survival]

Saturday.
After working two full weeks without a break, Yun Luohe’s first action upon returning from the police station was to take a shower.
She needed to tidy up her home a bit and get a good night's sleep — she had to work overtime again tomorrow.
The house was a complete mess.
There was no helping it; recently, she had been busy with a major case, working around the clock for days without any time to clean up.

Luckily, Yun Luohe was good at tidying.
In just over ten minutes, the chaotic room was restored to a clean and orderly state.
She put the trash outside the door, planning to take it out properly in the morning.
Grabbing a fresh garbage bag, she was about to pull it over the trash can—
When suddenly, everything before her eyes changed.

The sound of ocean waves filled her ears.
Yun Luohe stood stunned, staring at the endless sea before her, unable to react for a moment.
It was all too sudden.
She was still holding the trash can in her hands!
The reef under her feet rose about one meter above sea level.
If the waves were just a little higher, they would submerge the reef entirely.

【System scan successful. Binding in progress.】
A pleasant female voice sounded beside her ear, resembling that of a smart voice assistant.
Suddenly, a huge glowing screen appeared in midair.
Several lines of glowing blue text appeared:

【Hello, Yun Luohe. Welcome to the game "Doomsday Arrival." It is now the year 5023 on Blue Star, and the third year of global oceanification. As one of the first humans to successfully bind to a floating reef, you have been granted an intelligent wristband and a starter resource pack.】
As the voice finished speaking, Yun Luohe saw a gift pack shimmer twice in the air before shrinking and flying into an icon at the bottom of the screen.
【This is not just a game — it is a real post-apocalyptic survival world. Half a month from now, the official server will open, and the remaining humans on Blue Star will also enter the game. Death here means true death. Please cherish your life and live well.】

【At the beginning of the game, there will be a three-day newbie protection period, during which players will be relatively safe.】
【After three days, spring will begin… Players are advised to collect resources and upgrade their reefs as soon as possible!】
【Tip: Each player can fish up three shells per day.】

—
【The game has officially begun. Good luck.】
Yun Luohe’s expression grew serious.
It all seemed oddly convincing.
Since things had come to this, she might as well study the situation.
Although surviving here seemed unlikely, Yun Luohe had always been good at adapting.

She turned her attention to the glowing screen.
In the upper left corner it read:
Survival Day 1 (Newbie Protection Period)
3 PM, 20°C
Opening the map in the upper right corner, she could only see endless ocean and a single glowing dot marking her location.
There were a few larger green dots scattered across the sea — perhaps islands? Yun Luohe could only guess.

At the bottom of the screen were several prominent icons representing Character Info, Inventory, Chat, Reef Center, and Friends.
She had no choice but to click through them one by one.
【Name: Yun Luohe】
【Gender: Female】
【Age: 26】
【Region: Test Server, Zone 2】

【Health Points (HP): 100】
(Affected by negative conditions such as hunger, cold, and injury. Dropping below 30 will cause a weakened state.)
【Stamina: 100】
(All actions consume stamina. When stamina reaches 0, forced sleep occurs.)
【Strength: 75 (Upgradeable)】
【Agility: 68 (Upgradeable)】
【Luck: 12 (Upgradeable)】

【Trait: +10 Perception】
Luck was only 12.
Yun Luohe was shocked.
She opened her backpack with a complicated expression.
At the moment, it only contained the starter pack she had just received.

Without hesitation, she opened it.
The result:
【Obtained: Tattered Fishing Net ×1, Spoiled Buns ×2, Empty Water Bottle ×1, Waterlogged Wooden Planks ×5, Child’s Pajamas ×1】

...What was this junk?
Yun Luohe stared blankly.
Each different type of item occupied one inventory slot, while identical items could be stacked.
Currently, her backpack had only 10 slots, and these items already occupied 7.

With a thought, Yun Luohe materialized the fishing net into her hands.
【Beginner Fishing Net (Upgradeable): A tattered old fishing net with a durability of 48.】
【Low success rate. Each use consumes 20 stamina points. Easily damaged if snagged on sharp objects or used to haul heavy loads.】
【Upgrade Requirements: Intermediate Fishing Net Blueprint ×1, Fiber ×5】
【Spoiled Bun: The bun has already turned sour. Are you sure you want to eat it?】

Yun Luohe: "..."
The remaining items — the empty water bottle and rotten wooden planks — were equally worthless.
As for the child’s pajamas, she could tell at a glance they were far too small for her to wear.
Only the broken fishing net seemed remotely useful.

Yun Luohe let out a bitter laugh.
Surely she wasn’t the only one this unlucky, right!?
Hurriedly, she opened the chat.

Maybe she could see how others were doing.
Messages scrolled rapidly across the chat channel:
Zone 2 Public Chat:

"Where the hell is this? How are we supposed to survive on a broken rock?"
"Has anyone found a shell yet? The system said there would be shells!"
"Haha, my starter pack had lots of food and water. What about you guys?"

"I got a roasted sweet potato and a whole barrel of mineral water!"
"All I got were a few rocks and some plastic junk. What can I even do with that?"
"I have a wife and kid. Will they also end up here? Can anyone contact family?"

"Maybe if we jump into the sea, we can log out?"
"Better not risk it. What if death here is real? For now, let's just stay alive."
...

Other people had food and supplies.
All she had was trash.
Yun Luohe was at a complete loss.
As for the friends and family others mentioned...
She had grown up in an orphanage.
She did have a few friends, but right now, even keeping herself alive would be hard enough.
If she ever ran into them here, she would help if she could.

For now, she had to survive.
The reef she stood on was only five square meters wide — about the size of a small restroom.
Trying to live on it would be extremely difficult.
Even sleeping would require curling up tightly.
It was still daytime, but if the tide rose at night...

Hopefully, the game wouldn’t throw new players into such dire straits right away.
There was, after all, a three-day protection period.
Still, who knew what would happen after that?
The system had urged players to upgrade their reefs as soon as possible.
It was clear why.

Opening the Reef Center, she saw:
【Reef Level: 1】
【Area: 5 square meters】
【Rating: 3 points】
【Upgrade Requirements: Ocean Stones ×10, Wood ×20】
She didn’t have a single required material.
Clearly, she would need to find another way to gather resources.

Thinking of the earlier system prompt about fishing up shells, Yun Luohe retrieved her fishing net.
This seemed like the only tool she had that could be used to fish for items.
She cast the net into the sea.
After a while, an exclamation mark appeared above the spot where she had thrown it.

It looked like something had been caught.
She quickly pulled the net back.
Sure enough, there was a shell.

As she reached out to touch it, the shell popped open on its own, revealing a dull gray pearl inside.
The pearl was pitted and rough, with no luster to speak of.
【System Notice: Pearl grades are divided into Gray, White, Gold, Black, and Iridescent. Gray is the lowest grade, progressing upward in order.】

Although it was only a gray pearl — the lowest grade — Yun Luohe was already satisfied to have caught anything on her first try.
After picking up the pearl, Yun Luohe was prompted to open it immediately.
【Obtained: Ocean Stone ×1, Wood ×1, Tattered Slippers ×1】
Seeing the tattered slippers, Yun Luohe remained perfectly calm.

Just a moment ago, she had been worrying about not having any Ocean Stones or Wood — and now, here they were.
If she could collect 10 Ocean Stones and 20 pieces of Wood, she would be able to upgrade her reef.
However, each use of the fishing net would consume 20 stamina points and also reduce its durability.
That meant Yun Luohe could fish at most five times, but if she used up all her stamina, she would pass out immediately.
She needed to save some stamina and couldn’t afford to use it all at once.

Moreover, each player could only obtain three shells per day, so the resources she could gather daily were limited.
She still needed a lot more Ocean Stones and Wood.
But her luck was truly miserable — with such poor drops, gathering enough materials for an upgrade would take forever!
Feeling helpless, Yun Luohe cast the fishing net again.

This time, she waited for a long while without any response.
Finally, an exclamation mark appeared — she quickly pulled the net back —
only to haul up a pile of seaweed.
【Seaweed: A favorite food of sea turtles. It may have other uses.】
The seaweed didn’t seem very useful.
Although disappointed, Yun Luohe still collected it.
If she encountered a sea turtle, maybe she could use it to feed them.

After all, it was just a beginner’s fishing net — the success rate was low.
She threw the net out again.
While waiting, she opened the chat channel to see what others were doing.
[Zone 2 Public Chat]:

"I just caught a shell with my fishing net! You guys should try too!"
"Why have I fished twice and still haven’t caught a shell? I’m so thirsty! I couldn't resist and drank a little seawater — now I’m even thirstier."
"Never drink seawater! It doesn’t quench thirst and will cause dehydration and poisoning!"

"I caught a shell too, but the pearl only gave me wood. I swear, surviving on this rock without food or water is impossible."
"Didn’t you get food and water from the starter pack?"
"I got two buns in my pack — at least I won’t starve today, but having no water is a real problem."

Reading this, Yun Luohe realized the biggest challenge in ocean survival might be the lack of drinkable water.
Seawater couldn’t be drunk directly, and she didn’t have any filtration tools.
If she went too long without drinking, no matter how tough her body was, she wouldn’t last.
She was already starting to feel a little thirsty.
—

At that moment, the trash can she had set aside suddenly began to glow, catching her attention.
【Congratulations, Player! You have obtained the Gifted Trash Can and successfully bound to the Waste Recycling System!】
【Level 1 Trash Can】
【Experience Required for Upgrade: 50】
【Skill: Recycle and Reuse】
【Tip: Please throw discarded items into the trash can for recycling.】

Yun Luohe: "Trash, huh… Haha, good thing I have plenty."
She threw the five waterlogged wooden planks into the bin.
A flash of white light appeared.
【Recycling Successful! Obtained: Wood ×2】

It actually worked!
Five rotten pieces of wood turned into two usable pieces of wood.
Although the quantity decreased, at least now they were usable.
Yun Luohe hugged the trash can and carefully examined it.

【Level 1 Trash Can】
【Experience Required for Upgrade: 50 points. Each piece of garbage recycled grants experience points.】
【Upon upgrading, unlock the ability to exchange waste for money.】
【Recycle 10 items to receive a lottery chance (limited to once per day).】
Baby Trash Can!
She had never imagined that the trash can she casually brought from home would turn out to be her golden cheat!

She immediately continued recycling.
Yun Luohe threw the tattered slippers into the bin.
【Recycling Successful! Obtained: Plastic ×3】

Then she threw in the spoiled buns.
【Recycling Successful! Obtained: Flour ×1】
The empty water bottle was recycled into Plastic ×1.

The child’s pajamas were recycled into a piece of patterned cloth.
At last, she had something a little useful.
However, she still had no food or drink.

At that moment, Yun Luohe felt the fishing net grow heavy.
She glanced toward the sea — sure enough, an exclamation mark had appeared.
She immediately pulled the net up as fast as she could.
She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but Yun Luohe felt a strong hunch —
this time, there had to be a shell.

She pulled with all her strength.
Sure enough, she found a shell caught in the net.
Opening it revealed a gray pearl.

【Obtained: Ocean Stone ×1, Wood ×5, Waterlogged Toilet Paper ×1, Bottled Water ×1, Rotten Wooden Barrel ×1, Used Toothbrush ×1】
Most of it was still garbage.
But Yun Luohe was genuinely pleased.

More trash meant more opportunities for recycling!
Just five more recyclables, and she would be eligible for the lottery!
However, after opening the new batch of materials, her backpack was almost full.

Unless she cleared some items out, she wouldn't have enough space.
She quickly sorted her inventory and found that to expand her storage, she would need a Space Stone.
One Space Stone would add five more slots.
However, she didn’t know where to obtain a Space Stone yet.
For now, she would just have to make do.

The waterlogged toilet paper was thrown into the trash can and recycled into a small pack of portable tissues.
The rotten wooden barrel {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} was recycled into Wood ×5.
The used toothbrush was recycled into Fiber ×1.

Yun Luohe’s expectations began to rise.
Only two more items to recycle — and she could draw a prize!