At this moment, in a distant research lab on Planet Toska, the lead scientist, Professor Julia, stared at the data in her hand and let out a deep sigh.
"These low-level plane humans… their quality is just too poor. They're even worse than the subjects from the last few planes. At least those ones gave me a few promising experimental candidates."
A nearby assistant quickly comforted her, "Professor, you've already done an excellent job. It's just that the people from Blue Star weren't lucky enough. I believe the next survival game will yield better results. Who knows—you might find the perfect specimen next time."
After chatting a bit more, the two of them casually tossed aside the data on Blue Star's top survivors. In their eyes, these low-level humans were utterly unremarkable and not worth any more time.
In truth, Professor Julia's team had designed this ultra-realistic game under the guise of a livestream-based moneymaking scheme. But their true motive was to find unique human subjects for experimentation in order to unlock the secrets of human potential.
However, on Planet Toska, human experimentation was strictly prohibited by the Interstellar Alliance. That's why this lab had set its sights on humans from other planes—especially those with unique genetic traits.
As for Zheng Haoyun, because of her sharp sixth sense, she had managed to hide her psychic powers during the livestream. That meant she completely avoided detection by the lab's observers.
Now, all survivors who passed the round had been sent back to their ice houses. Everyone was still shaken by the ordeal, and the chat channel was far quieter than before.
The survival rate this time was less than 10%. In Zheng Haoyun's tropical rainforest zone, the survival rate was only around 6%, which was terrifyingly low.
"Brave survivors, all of you who made it through are true warriors. Now, the game will reward you.For the next seven days, you will enter a long-awaited ceasefire period. During this time, the snowfield beasts will not attack you—unless provoked."
The same old trick: slap you, then give you candy?
Zheng Haoyun didn't care for any of that and opened her notification panel right away. It displayed:
"Congratulations to 'I Want My Luck to Turn Around' for surviving this perilous trial.Due to your mostly passive and evasive strategy in the second half, your overall ranking is 5th in this round. You are awarded a gold treasure chest and 3 Luck Points."
Seeing the words "3 Luck Points," Zheng Haoyun was nearly moved to tears. Was her bad luck finally turning?
She eagerly opened her personal stats panel:
Name: Zheng HaoyunUsername: I Want My Luck to Turn Around
Physique: 10(Average is 5. Congratulations! After your efforts, you're now far above the basic human standard.)
Luck: 1(Your luck has improved a lot. You're no longer the unluckiest survivor in the world. Occasionally, you'll even have bursts of good luck.)
Spirit: 12(Who would've thought? Despite your previous misfortunes, your mental resilience has grown so quickly.)
Backpack Slots: 10(You previously used a backpack expansion card, doubling your inventory capacity.)
Then the long-silent system voice chimed in cheerfully:
"Congratulations, Host! You did amazing!Sorry about earlier—I had to act by the book due to the main system's restrictions. I hope you won't take it personally~"
Zheng Haoyun didn't comment on the system's apology. Honestly, she'd never expected help from it anyway.
What thrilled her most now was that her storage space was finally usable again—no more relying on treasure chests or the game store for food.
Only heaven knew what kind of hellish life she'd been living over the past month.
Excitedly, she pulled out a steamed bun from her space and took a big bite—only to realize, no matter how much she ate, her stomach never felt full.
"Host, I forgot to mention—your spatial food is edible, but it won't satisfy your current body's hunger.However, all items you collect can still be stored inside."
Oddly enough, Zheng Haoyun wasn't even that disappointed. Maybe she'd already been emotionally numbed by misfortune.
At least now she could taste food again—and with her newly upgraded storage space, she was content.
After exchanging a few words with the system, Zheng Haoyun turned her attention to the two gold treasure chests—one from this round's reward, and the other she had purposely saved.
When she opened them, she found a surprising amount of loot: in addition to basic materials like wood and ice blocks, the contents included—
1 Shield Card
1 Electric Inflatable Raft
1 High-Quality Katana
1 Random Attribute Card
20 Gold Coins (1 gold coin = 100 copper coins)
Indeed, when your luck improves, even your loot becomes more pleasing to the eye.
Zheng Haoyun knew the high quality of these items also had to do with the chest's rarity—but allow her to enjoy her happiness for once!
That said, even with all the in-game currency she now had, she still couldn't afford any of the ridiculously expensive skill books in the shop—some of which cost millions of copper coins.
Sometimes she wondered if those books were even real—maybe they were just bait she'd never be able to afford.
Oh well. No point wasting energy on depressing thoughts.
She immediately used the random attribute card—because who wouldn't use a good item ASAP?
"Congratulations 'I Want My Luck to Turn Around'!You've used a Random Attribute Card. Your Luck has increased by 2 points."
Nice! Finally, something that didn't just boost her Spirit. Now her Luck stat was 3—a far cry from the -5 she started with. Talk about progress.
The days that followed, Zheng Haoyun focused on training and physical conditioning. She also purchased various herbs from the game store to craft her own antidotes, hemostatic powders, and cold remedies…
Though the game had a bug where her stored items couldn't affect her body, they were still useful in many ways.
When the eighth day arrived, Zheng Haoyun remained on high alert. She had a hunch that the game was cooking up something big.
"Survivors, the final challenge is about to begin.Each of you now has 30 minutes of exclusive access to the game store. After that, the store will permanently close.Details of the challenge will be revealed once shopping ends. Countdown starts now!"
As the system's announcement ended, Zheng Haoyun immediately sprang into action.
She prioritized buying items she hadn't yet acquired, such as:
Gas masks
Diving gear
Rowing paddles…
She planned to leave herself just a few hundred copper coins as emergency funds—and spend the rest without hesitation.