The End
1153 Words
In a realm of profound silence, suddenly, a faint rustling sound echoed in Lin Fan's ears. Glistening snowflakes, appearing out of nowhere, descended from the high sky, swaying with the wind and landing on his face.
The biting cold pierced through.
Lin Fan opened his eyes, with no warning whatsoever. The world before him had turned into a pristine white landscape, snowflakes falling gracefully like countless silver feathers dancing in the air.
The chilling breath made Lin Fan shiver involuntarily.
Exhaling a warm breath, he faced the swirling snow, and the warmth quickly melted into a thin mist among the ice and snow.
A wry smile appeared on Lin Fan's lips. This virtual space had an unpredictable climate, changing without rhyme or reason. Just yesterday, it was a sunny day with scorching heat, and now, he woke up to a scene of pure white snow and freezing cold.
Truly, it left no room for even the slightest respite.
He could keenly feel the cold gradually seeping into his body, his body temperature steadily dropping.
The immediate priority was to quickly start a fire for warmth.
Walking along the shore, covered in thick snow, he found some relatively dry twigs and leaves. With a wave of his arms, he shook off the water on them.
Starting a fire by rubbing wood was a basic survival skill. Although Lin Fan had only theoretical knowledge before, this was his first practical attempt.
Picking up a few seemingly dry twigs, he inspected them for any excess moisture or snow on the surface.
After a careful selection, he finally chose two branches that were most suitable. One was long and thick, serving as the "main wood," and the other was smaller with a sharp end, used as the "tinder."
Moving his frozen fingers, Lin Fan placed the tinder firmly in the groove of the main wood, then rapidly rubbed the two together. Starting a fire by rubbing wood required generating enough heat through friction to ignite the wood.
It didn't go smoothly at first, even with blisters forming on his palms, Lin Fan saw no spark. Fortunately, he wasn't discouraged. Taking a deep breath, he adjusted the angle and friction intensity of the tinder, continuously experimenting.
Gradually, he found the technique. Thin black smoke began to rise, followed by sparks flashing.
A glint of determination flashed in Lin Fan's eyes as he quickly transferred the sparks to the dry woodpile, carefully wrapping them up to prevent any accidental extinguishing.
The flame spread smoothly. In this icy wilderness, it was exceptionally conspicuous.
Lin Fan kept adding more dry twigs and leaves to the fire, making the flames more vigorous. As the flames soared, the surrounding cold gradually dissipated.
Once his body was warmed, disregarding the heavy snowfall, Lin Fan collected more branches and leaves to place by the fire. Simultaneously, he moved the remaining coconuts from yesterday to his shelter.
He also found several suitable stones on the beach, which could be used to hold snow. By placing them on the fire, the melted snow would provide a continuous supply of fresh water.
Food, freshwater, the flame, and shelter issues were temporarily resolved. Lin Fan began to contemplate what changes might occur in this virtual space on the third day.
"Crack..."
The warm firelight illuminated Lin Fan's face. Sitting by the bonfire, he broke twigs one by one, then threw them into the fire. During this process, he pondered relentlessly, unable to fathom the rules governing the climate changes in this virtual space.
The first day brought a terrifying tsunami.
The second day, an abrupt heavy snowfall.
So, what would happen on the third day, the fourth day?
Lin Fan couldn't guess, but one thing was certain: relying solely on the energy provided by a few coconut meats wouldn't be sufficient to smoothly pass the next five days.
However, with the heavy snow falling outside, Lin Fan couldn't go out to search for food.
He could only sit by the bonfire, minimizing movements to avoid exhausting his energy.
This continued until late at night and into the dawn. When the first light appeared in the gloomy sky, the snow stopped.
Shortly after, the ground began to shake violently. Everything on the island, including the mountain wall behind him, started shaking and emitting sharp creaking sounds. The sea waves were stirred up, surging violently.
Lin Fan pressed himself tightly against the mountain wall to maintain balance. However, it was still difficult to stand firm. He witnessed many trees collapsing. Bottomless cracks, like a spider web, spread across the beach.
Lin Fan was deeply shaken, fearing that the island might sink.
Fortunately, the shaking didn't last too long. Just a few minutes later, it stopped. Lin Fan cautiously stood up, and all he could see was a scene of devastation.
Fallen trees and rubble scattered on the beach, cracks resembling a spider web spouting water. Worse yet, the hard-earned fire was extinguished during this unexpected tremor.
The only good news was that the collected snowwater from yesterday was still there, temporarily relieving him of the worry for freshwater.
"Gurgle..."
The sudden hunger struck, and Lin Fan's stomach rumbled like thunder. Breaking open two coconuts, he filled his stomach and observed. Confirming that the tremors had subsided, he headed towards the seashore.
After the tremor, many fish carcasses floated on the sea, helpless in the waves.
Lin Fan was overjoyed. These fish carcasses were a great gift for him, solving the pressing issue of food.
He rekindled the fire, had a hearty meal, and then dried the rest by the bonfire, ensuring a long-lasting supply.
On the fourth day, the entire island was shrouded in dense fog, making visibility nearly zero. However, Lin Fan had already collected enough food and water in his shelter, rendering him unaffected by the external conditions.
On the fifth day, the fog cleared, a dazzling lightning streaked across the sky like a silver current, dividing the sky into two halves, followed by heavy rain.
The rain caused the sea level to rise continuously, submerging the beach and eventually reaching Lin Fan's shelter. Helplessly, amidst the pouring rain, he had to abandon his shelter, carrying some food and water, and climbed to the summit of the mountain wall.
There, some large trees and rocks provided shelter for Lin Fan.
On the sixth day, a wild ox suddenly appeared behind Lin Fan, charging towards him. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, leaping to the other side to evade the ox's attack.
However, the wild ox was equally agile, swiftly adjusting its direction and relentlessly pursuing him.
He ran, it chased, with no escape.
In the end, this chase concluded when Lin Fan climbed down the cliff, and the wild ox gave up the pursuit.
On the seventh day, nothing unexpected happened. Surprisingly calm.
"Time's up, the assessment is over!" An emotionless electronic voice rang out, marking the end of the trial.
- Writer
