Hank Fowler was speechless. "Aren't you supposed to be, like, the guardian of this place? If you hide in The Hut, who's going to protect us?"

The Wooden Fence whined, "But I'm scared!" in a voice dripping with self-pity.

"Scared of what, you overgrown toothpick! Be brave for once!"

Hank snorted, turned around, and entered The Hut, slamming the door shut with a bit more force than necessary.

"Hey, take it easy! You're hurting me," The Hut grumbled.

"Seriously? You guys are more dramatic than Yua Mikami in a poorly scripted scene," Hank muttered, looking around.

The Hut was dark, lacking any lighting. Hank's eyes scanned the interior until they landed on something new on the floor. It looked like a straw mat, about two meters long, one meter wide, and five centimeters thick.

This straw mat must have been coughed up by Thatchy. It wasn't much, but it would do.

Hank tossed the frying pan, the entrenching tool, and the Magnifying Glass into a corner and plopped down onto the mat. Not bad, actually. Soft and kind of fluffy.

The entrenching tool suddenly spoke up, "Hey, boss, is it comfy up there?"

Hank replied nonchalantly, "It's alright. Why do you ask?"

The entrenching tool chuckled, "Can I, uh, maybe come up and feel it for myself?"

Hank scoffed, "Do you think you're worthy?" You'd think a shovel would know its place.

The entrenching tool: "..." Again with the shovel discrimination.

Hank ignored it and stretched out on the mat, then opened up the 10086 Regional Channel chat group. The first thing he noticed was that the number of people in the channel had dropped to 3860.

Where did those 160 people go? Did they all just... die?

It had only been half a day since they landed in this world, and over a hundred people were already gone. And that was just in one region. If you added up all the regions, how many deaths would that be?

The number had to be astronomical! This world was way more dangerous than a BDSM convention organized by Bridget Bardot.

Hank sighed and started scrolling through the chat.

Wally Cox: Guys, I'll repeat myself: DO NOT GO TO THE BEACH! DO NOT GO TO THE BEACH! DO NOT GO TO THE BEACH!

Lee Lightman: You repeated yourself three times.

Wally Cox: Important things need to be said three times!

Stan Strong: What's wrong with the beach? I was planning to go catch some crabs tomorrow.

Wally Cox: The beach is super dangerous. Not only are there man-eating turtles, but the crabs are also vicious!

Sue Lynn: Crabs eat people, too?

Wally Cox: Of course, they eat people!

Stan Strong: Pfft, with my transformation talent, a few crabs are nothing.

Wally Cox: Forget transforming into a gorilla. Even if you turned into King Kong, it wouldn't matter.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Stan Strong: Is it really that bad?

Wally Cox: Those aren't ordinary crabs. Each one is about a foot across, like a freaking hubcap! And they're incredibly aggressive. Today, Lee from our island went to the beach, and guess what? He got ripped apart and devoured by a swarm of crabs!

Everyone: Holy shit!

Stan Strong: Guys, since the beach is so dangerous, let's just avoid it.

Jeff Johnson: But the Heavenly Dao only gave us three loaves of bread. Who's that going to feed? If we don't go to the beach to find food, where else can we go?

Charles Strong: You can catch insects, like grasshoppers. They're packed with protein, perfect for food.

Lou Yang: Where do we find grasshoppers?

Charles Strong: There are plenty in the bushes. But be warned, those grasshoppers are strong and they travel in groups. If you're going to hunt them, it's best to team up. Otherwise, instead of catching grasshoppers, you might end up being their dinner!

Sue Lynn: Even grasshoppers are this scary?

Kana Momonogi: I told you, every living thing on this island is terrifying.

Sheldon "Shel" Stone: sniffles I'm scared. I want my mommy!

Charles Strong: Dude, face reality. We're exiled. You're never seeing your mommy again!

Sheldon "Shel" Stone: Don't be ridiculous. I was only sentenced to 6,000 years. After that, I can go back.

Everyone: ...

Sentenced for that long, and he still thinks he's going back? Is this guy brain-damaged?

Stan Strong: Sheldon, what did you do to get sentenced for so long?

Sheldon "Shel" Stone: indignantly, "I helped my neighbor, Mrs. Wang, fix her plumbing, and I accidentally caught a glimpse of her while she was taking a shower. I swear, just one look, and I got slapped with a 6,000-year sentence! Tell me, is that fair?"

Wally Cox: This story sounds familiar. Like I've seen it somewhere before.

Lou Yang: Don't even try to remember. You definitely saw it in some Japanese adult film.

Stan Strong: Ugh! A pervert! You deserve that sentence!

Sheldon "Shel" Stone: I only looked once! I didn't do anything!

Charles Strong: Looking is a crime, too. Being in the same region as you is the biggest shame of my life!

Sheldon "Shel" Stone: ...

Jeff Johnson: Guys, does anyone have any food left?

Sue Lynn: Everyone got three loaves of bread and three bottles of water. Did you eat all of yours already?

Jeff Johnson: I have a big appetite. I usually eat at least ten loaves of bread per meal. Three loaves are nowhere near enough! I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.

Wally Cox: In this situation, even the landlord doesn't have extra food. Everyone's struggling. No one can spare you anything. But I do have one suggestion.

Jeff Johnson: What is it?

Wally Cox: Endure it.

Jeff Johnson: What the hell! If I could endure it, would I be complaining to you guys?

Wally Cox: Then I'm out of ideas.

Eddie Drumpf: If you're really starving, you can dig up grass roots. They're edible.

Jeff Johnson: Are you sure? Isn't that animal feed?

Eddie Drumpf: When you're starving, you'll eat anything, even tree bark. I ate it when I was a kid. It's kind of sweet. The only downside is that it'll plug you up.

Jeff Johnson: Well, it's better than starving to death. I'll give it a try tomorrow.

Peter Young: Don't listen to Eddie. I have a better solution.

Jeff Johnson: eyes lighting up, "What?"

Peter Young: seriously, "You can eat shit! After you eat it, you'll poop it out. Then you can eat it again. It's a never-ending cycle. You'll never starve!"

Everyone: ...

Eat shit? Only Peter Young could come up with something like that!

Stan Strong: tentatively, "Peter, have you ever eaten shit before?"

Peter Young: Are you kidding? That stuff is disgusting! I'd never eat that!

Jeff Johnson: Then why are you telling me to eat it?

Peter Young: I'm just trying to help!

Jeff Johnson: Thanks for nothing, you and your ancestors!

Peter Young: ...

...

Hank closed the regional channel chat group, a slight frown on his face. He then opened the Trading Hall and started browsing.

[Lily Zhang is selling a diamond necklace for a bottle of water.]

[Wayne Goldman is selling a Rolex watch for a loaf of bread.]

[Timmy Little is selling 100 empty water bottles for a loaf of bread.]

When Hank saw this last message, his eyes lit up. Empty water bottles were worthless to most people. But to him, they were different. He had a pond that produced ten bottles of water a day. There's no way he could drink it all himself. It would be a waste. But if he had empty bottles, he could store the water, perfectly solving the problem. He could be the Jeff Bezos of bottled water in this godforsaken place.