Chapter 12: Hidden Crisis, Extreme Catastrophe

Even upgrading the most basic Level‑3 Shelter requires materials ten times those of a Level‑2 Shelter.

Not to mention, the materials also include Cast Iron.

So far, Lin Yifan has never seen Cast Iron!

In a short time, reaching a Level‑3 Shelter seems unlikely.

But at that moment, Lin Yifan suddenly noticed the Light Screen in front of him flickering rapidly.

A moment later, a message appeared on the Light Screen.

【Congratulations on becoming the District's first Survivor to upgrade a Shelter to Level‑2; you are hereby rewarded!】

【Reward 1: One piece of Bronze-level Equipment】

【Reward 2: One Bronze-level Plant】

【Reward 3: One Recent Hidden Crisis Tip!】

【Please choose one of the three rewards above.】

(Special reminder: Hidden crises often relate to upcoming environmental changes and may be Extreme Catastrophes; Survivors should watch closely, as this could affect your life or death!)

Lin Yifan looked at the message and was thrilled!

Although he had previously speculated that the Survival Realm might, like an online game, grant rewards for achieving certain special achievements or rankings.

It was precisely this gamble that made him rush to upgrade the Shelter to Level‑2.

Now everything is as he expected, how could he not be delighted?

Moreover, both Bronze-level Equipment and Bronze-level Plant are top‑tier at present.

At least in the whole District, aside from the Bronze-level Wind‑Chasing Cloud‑Breaking Bow he holds, he has not seen any other Bronze‑level item appear.

Although he has never seen a Bronze-level Plant, reaching this grade must entail something special.

In any case, either of these two rewards would be a great surprise.

However, his excitement lasted only a moment; upon seeing the third option and the final special reminder, it instantly cooled.

Hidden Crisis!

This world actually still has hidden crises!

Moreover, this hidden crisis could be an Extreme Catastrophe concerning life and death!

Does he even have a choice?

Lin Yifan forced a wry smile; these three options were practically teasing him!

It's a matter of life and death!

Besides the hidden crisis tip, would he dare choose anything else?

After a brief complaint, Lin Yifan unhesitatingly chose the third reward.

With a single flash, a bold red line of text instantly appeared!

【Notice: Three days later, the Survival Realm will face its first Extreme Catastrophe—Mosquito Swarm Outbreak】

【Mosquito Swarm Outbreak】: Danger Level ★★★

(Friendly reminder: Never underestimate mosquitoes; one mosquito isn't scary, but billions? Are you scared?)

Mosquito swarm!

Sure enough, it's a mosquito swarm!

Lin Yifan had previously guessed that the terrifying mosquito swarms in the forest would become a life‑or‑death crisis.

However, he was unsure when this crisis would erupt.

Now it's confirmed—it will happen three days later.

Thus, his Strong Mosquito Repellent must be produced within three days, and the Shelter must also be reinforced.

Mosquitoes are somewhat like termites; any tiny gap in a house lets them fly in.

Therefore, under these conditions, mosquito control is far from easy.

He wouldn't dare underestimate mosquitoes; even in his past life on Earth Star, the terrifying texts of the primeval forest were deadly.

Not to mention, he is now in the Survival Realm, where an Extreme Catastrophe labeled a hidden crisis could be even more terrifying.

But then, Lin Yifan suddenly noticed the Light Screen flicker once more.

Soon after, another message appeared on the Light Screen.

And this message turned out to be a multiple‑choice question.

【Dear Survivor Lin Yifan, as the District's sole lucky recipient of a hidden information tip, would you like to share this message with the other Survivors in the District?】

(Friendly reminder: Whether or not you choose to publish the information, you will receive a reward.)

Lin Yifan glanced at the question, raised his eyebrows slightly, and then chose to publish without hesitation.

After all, he is still human, raised with moral education, and cannot stand watching so many people die.

He had previously observed that the Survivors in his District are mostly compatriots from Huaguo.

Perhaps many among them are scum, but the majority are ordinary people.

He truly cannot stand idly by while so many lives are at stake!

Perhaps in the future, faced with more bloodshed, his moral baseline will drop, making him increasingly indifferent.

But at least for now, his sense of morality does not permit such indifference.

Of course, even setting aside humanity and focusing on personal gain, he would still choose to publish the news.

Since the Survival Realm presented him with this question, it indicates that the Survival World wishes him to share the information.

For his personal benefit, publishing the message means that once he produces the Powerful Mosquito Repellent, it will sell even better.

Indeed, after learning of the mosquito swarm, he had already planned to manufacture the Powerful Mosquito Repellent for sale.

Now that he can maximize profit, he will of course do so!

Not to mention, whether or not he announces the information, there will be a reward for him, so he can't lose.

And after his information is announced, a Green Treasure Chest instantly appears before his eyes.

Lin Yifan sees the Green Treasure Chest, and his eyes instantly light up!

He originally thought the so‑called reward would be at most just an item, but he didn't expect they would give a Treasure Chest directly.

And it's a Green Treasure Chest.

One should know that the items obtained from a Green Treasure Chest are at least Black Iron Grade at the worst.

Moreover, it can yield three items at once.

Although it doesn't compare to the bronze items of the previous two rewards, it's still quite good.

However, Lin Yifan still doesn't open the Treasure Chest; instead, he puts this chest together with the previously dug White Treasure Chest, intending to open them after 12:00.

He still wants to gamble his Daily Buff.

What if it's an item Sublimation?

Then he would make a big profit.

At this moment, the chat channel erupts.

At the top of the chat channel, a red, bold message dominates the screen.

【District Notice: Survivors, please note, three days later the first ★★★‑level dangerous Extreme Disaster—mosquito swarm outbreak—will occur. Survivors, please take precautions! Survivors, please take precautions! Survivors, please take precautions! — This information originates from Lin Yifan】

When this announcement appears, the entire comment section instantly explodes!

"What? Extreme Disaster? Mosquito swarm outbreak? How can anyone survive this?"

"What are you doing! We can barely fill our stomachs now, and a disaster shows up; this isn't survival, it's outright death!"

"Exactly, this Survival Realm is a Death Realm; if you don't want to give people a way out, just say so!"

"Hey, everyone, don't get so worked up! It's just mosquitoes, not a snake or rat disaster; at most they'll suck our blood, not take lives."

"Right! Mosquitoes only suck blood; although bites leave itchy bumps, it's not a matter of life or death, so don't be so desperate."

"Ha! The two people upstairs were from Earth Star, right? If they were southerners, they'd never say such naive things!"

"Everyone, don't be careless; I'm a biology professor on Earth Star, and while a single mosquito isn't scary, a massive swarm can be deadly, so you must take precautions."

"Precautions? Everyone knows that! But we can't even fill our stomachs—what can we use for precautions?"

"We have no aftershave, no mosquito coils, and certainly no mosquito repellent—nothing at all, so we just brace ourselves! Let's wait for death!"

……

When Lin Yifan placed the two Treasure Chests properly and grabbed two skewers of grilled meat, he then ate while opening the chat channel.

He then saw the screen filled with negative energy.

However, this is exactly the right time for him to advertise.

So, he posted the formula description of 【Strong Mosquito Repellent】 to the chat channel, then sent a message:

"Everyone, don't be so pessimistic; since the Survival Realm is meant for survival, it will surely provide us a way to survive."

"Today I opened this formula from a Green Treasure Chest, so I think everyone will soon obtain disaster‑resisting items from Treasure Chests as well."

When Lin Yifan's message went out, the chat channel that had been scrolling stopped for a moment.

A moment later, it began scrolling again:

"It's Lin Yifan, the Lin Yifan mentioned in that announcement who provided the information!"

"Wait, the big boss who earlier traded snake meat for Basic Supplies also seems to be him!"

"Big boss, where did you get this information? Is it authentic?"

"Right! Can the big boss state clearly whether the information is authentic?"

……

"Absolutely authentic," Lin Yifan said without hesitation, straightforwardly:

"This information comes from one of my reward achievements, so it is confirmed authentic, and before nightfall I also discovered a mosquito swarm in a nearby forest."

"I estimate that near your Shelter there should also be a mosquito swarm; you can observe carefully."

Since the mosquito swarm appears as a disaster, it certainly isn't limited to just Lin Yifan's Shelter.

Sure enough, after the chat channel paused for a few minutes, it erupted with rapid scrolling again.

"WTF! The big boss is right; I just listened carefully and I really think I heard mosquito sounds."

"I heard it too—a huge buzzing, must be a massive mosquito swarm!"

"My Shelter is right in front of a forest; I just looked through a leaky grass wall and observed carefully, the mosquitoes are in the forest, a dense black mass, like black fog."

"Oh my god! That black cloud is actually mosquitoes! I saw it just before nightfall, I really thought it was black fog!"

"So terrifying, so terrifying! So many mosquitoes; if they really attack us, they'll drain us dry!"

"In three days the mosquito swarm will attack! What should we do…"

"Wait, the big boss has the 【Strong Mosquito Repellent】 formula; if the big boss can produce it, we'll be saved!"

"Right! We also have the big boss's Strong Mosquito Repellent!"

"Big boss, when can the Strong Mosquito Repellent be made? I'm willing to spend all supplies to buy one!"

……

Lin Yifan, seeing everyone's messages, doesn't pretend and says cheerfully:

"I haven't gathered all the materials yet; once I do, I'll produce the insecticide, and any surplus will definitely be placed on the market."

"Everyone, don't be too pessimistic; although the mosquito swarm is terrifying, if you upgrade your Shelter to Level 2, you should be able to fend off part of the swarm."

"There are still three days left; I believe if everyone puts in effort, they can definitely upgrade the Shelter to Level 2."

Lin Yifan isn't stingy with this information; after all, obtaining Initial Materials isn't difficult for him.

What he now needs more are those precious formulas and some valuable medicinal herbs.

Since there is a Strong Mosquito Repellent formula, there must also be other potion formulas.

Given the Survival Realm's nature, any formula that appears will eventually be useful; having it in hand first can't hurt.

And the people in the comment section, after seeing Lin Yifan's message, mostly expressed thanks or relief:

"If the Shelter reaches level two it can resist part of it? That's really great!"

"Thanks, big brother, for the reminder. I was about to give up, but tomorrow I'll diligently gather resources and try to raise the Shelter to level two."

"I'll also be hammering stone tomorrow; stone is all I have here, so I'll need everyone to trade me some Wood later."

"I have plenty of Japanese cedar here; this tree is easy to cut, so when I have extra Wood I'll trade it for your stone."

"Where's the Clay? Who has Clay! I searched all day and didn't find any; without Clay I can't upgrade!"

"Me! I have Clay here! It's just harder to dig up, but I'll work hard tomorrow and then trade resources with you!"

"Alright, alright, if we all stick together we'll definitely get through this crisis!"

Lin Yifan felt a slight warmth in his chest as he read the crowd's high‑spirited remarks.

Since arriving in this precarious world, his mood has been consistently low.

Even though he received the precious talent, his start is still far better than most.

But in a life of eating one meal and never another, who can stay happy?

Not to mention, every time he opens the chat channel, it's flooded with negative energy.

Even Lin Yifan feels heavily suppressed.

Now that he can see everyone's high morale, his mood lightens a bit.

After all, humans are social animals; even though everyone stays in their own Shelter and can't meet in person,

online chatting can still ease the loneliness.

However, while most comments are positive, there are some who dissent.

Especially when Lin Yifan listed his remaining snake meat and Wild Blueberry on the Auction House, marking them for exchange to craft

the Strong Mosquito Repellent, whose required materials are Mugwort and Mint.

Although the Auction House allows anonymity, Lin Yifan didn't know that and traded the snake meat directly.

Now, even if he knows he could be anonymous, the whole District knows the cobra meat came from his hands.

So whether he hides his identity or not makes no difference.

Precisely because of that, as soon as he posted it, people spotted it immediately!

That was a disaster; the dark‑hearted people couldn't help but jump out.

They flooded the comment section with sarcastic, biting remarks:

"We're all compatriots and now must face the crisis together, so we should help each other. If someone has surplus food, why not give it to us for free?"

"Exactly! We're about to starve; any food should be given to us for free first, to save our lives!"

"That's how it should be—hoarding food and refusing to share with those in need is sheer cold‑blooded cruelty!"

……

Lin Yifan looked at these freeloading parasites trying to moral‑blackmail him and couldn't help but laugh in anger.

But since they didn't name anyone, he naturally won't waste words explaining.

So he simply ignored them.

However, while he could ignore them, others couldn't stand it and immediately started berating them:

"What nonsense are you spouting! You don't go out to gather resources and just expect others to hand them to you; saying that not giving is cold‑blooded, what kind of ridiculous logic is that?"

"Exactly, with such long daylight and little danger outdoors, even if you can't find food you can cut two trees and trade them for food. Yet you refuse to do anything and just want to free‑ride on others—how shameless!"

"And you still try to blackmail Lin Yifan, the big brother—utterly ridiculous. He shouldn't pay them any mind; let these shameless brats starve to death!"

"Right, none of us should bother with those people. This is the Survival Realm, not a begging realm; if you can't survive, just die—natural selection, someone has to be eliminated!"

……