**Volume One: Desperate Situation · Struggle for Survival**
**Chapter 002: The Seventeen-Page Scroll**
**[Death Timer: 203 minutes]**
Ning DuGu saw it with every step.
The numbers pulsed.
Not vague feelings. Not rough estimates. The brutal truth, precise to two decimal places.
**[Core Temp: 34.81°C]**
**[Heart Rate: 118 bpm (Tachycardia)]**
**[Blood Oxygen: 89% (Hypoxic)]**
**[Distance Remaining: 403.6 meters]**
Behind each number was the weight of a life.
But Ning DuGu wasn't focused on those.
He was staring at the icon blinking in the top-left corner of his interface.
**[Environmental Scan: Detailed Report]**
It had been flashing since he woke up. An annoying prompt box designed for the obsessive-compulsive. It refused to auto-expand. It demanded a manual click.
Ning DuGu focused inwardly. "Open."
The system responded.
**[Environmental Scan Detailed Report: Expanding...]**
Then, Ning DuGu saw the most hopeless shopping list of his life—both this one and his last.
A dense, seventeen-page scroll. It looked like raw database output.
Each page was death.
**[Page 1 of 17]**
=== **Corpse Resource Inventory** ===
**Corpse #001:**
Gender: Male
Age: Est. 22-25
Cause of Death: Arrow Wounds ×3 (Chest, Abdomen, Thigh)
Time of Death: ~68 hours
Usable Resources:
- Padded Cotton Jacket ×1 **(Harvested)**
- Iron Arrowheads ×3 (Detachable. Material: Wrought Iron. Weight: 18g each)
- Hair ×1 lock (Length: 42cm. Can be braided into cord)
- Teeth ×28 (Intact. Can be used for necklace or counting)
**Corpse #002:**
Gender: Male
Age: Est. 35-40
Cause of Death: Blade Wounds ×7 (Defensive wounds evident)
Time of Death: ~70 hours
Usable Resources:
- Leather Boots ×2 (Right foot destroyed. Left usable)
- Copper Coins ×5 (Kaiyuan Tongbao. Severely worn)
- Short Blade Fragment ×1 (Broken blade. Length: 12cm)
- Intestinal Contents: ~30g undigested bean residue
**Corpse #003:**
Gender: Female
Age: Est. 16-18
Cause of Death: Blunt Force Trauma (Head)
Time of Death: ~65 hours
Usable Resources:
- Cloth Skirt ×1 (Heavily bloodstained. Low insulation)
- Wooden Hairpin ×1 (Can serve as basic tool)
- Hair ×1 lock (Length: 68cm. High quality)
- Copper Bracelet ×1 (Can be smelted)
...
Ning DuGu finished the first page. His face was blank.
He kept scrolling.
Page two. Three. Four...
All the same.
One hundred forty-seven corpses. Each meticulously numbered. Every usable bone, every strip of salvageable cloth, even the length and tensile strength of hair locks were clearly annotated.
The system helpfully appended a **"Suggested Utilization Plan"** at the end of each entry.
Example:
**[Suggested Plan (Corpse #017):]**
**Priority 1:** Dismantle iron vambraces. Can be modified into simple blade.
**Priority 2:** Extract femur. Can serve as lever.
**Priority 3:** Remove leather belt. Can substitute for rope.
Ning DuGu stopped at page five.
Not because he couldn't take it.
Because page five was different.
**[Page 5 of 17]**
=== **Environmental Resource Inventory** ===
**Metal Debris Distribution:**
- Arrowheads ×47 (Intact)
- Arrowheads ×13 (Damaged, can be re-smelted)
- Blade Fragments ×7 (Largest: 19cm)
- Armor Scales ×3 (Iron lamellar fragments. Can be repurposed)
- Copper Coins ×37 (Scattered. Locations marked)
- Iron Nails ×2 (Severely rusted)
**Cloth Statistics:**
- Intact Garments ×23 (Padded jackets: 8. Single-layer clothes: 15)
- Damaged Fabric ×41 pieces (Can be patched together)
- Leather Items ×7 (Boots: 3. Belts: 4)
**Bone Resources:**
- Human Bones: Ribs ×872, Femurs ×147...
- Horse Skeleton ×1 (Heavily shattered. Likely a corpse transport vehicle)
**Liquid Resources:**
- Uncoagulated Blood: ~800ml **(Contaminated. Bacterial count超标. Not Potable)**
- Snow: Purity 87%. Can be melted for drinking.
Ning DuGu's mind stirred at the line about snow.
Water.
He hadn't drunk anything in three days.
The system issued a timely prompt:
**[Suggestion: Collect clean snow. Melt using body heat.]**
**[Estimated Potable Water Yield: 300-500ml]**
**[Warning: Direct snow consumption accelerates hypothermia.]**
Ning DuGu stopped.
He braced himself on his makeshift crutch. Bent down. Carefully scooped a handful of unstained snow.
It was clean.
Cleaner than anything else in this pit.
He stuffed the snow inside his jacket—the one stripped from a corpse—against his inner clothes. The icy sensation made him gasp.
The system responded instantly.
**[Core Temp: 34.81°C → 34.76°C (Slight Drop)]**
**[Estimated Melt Time: 8-12 minutes]**
**[Water Yield After Melting: ~80ml]**
Eighty milliliters.
Not enough.
He scooped more snow, stuffing it all inside his jacket. Then, he moved on.
He walked while continuing to scroll through the report.
Page six was **[Hazard Assessment]**.
**[Page 6 of 17]**
=== **Hazard Inventory** ===
**Beast Traces:**
- Wolf Paw Prints ×3 sets (Closest: ~200m Northeast)
- Dog Bite Marks × Numerous (On Corpses #017, #042, #089)
- Feces ×2 piles (Wolf. Excretion ~24 hours ago)
**Human Activity Signs:**
- Horse Tracks ×17 sets (Khitan cavalry patrol route)
- Patrol Frequency: Every 6-8 hours
- Last Patrol: ~4 hours ago
- Next Patrol Estimated: In 2-4 hours
**Environmental Threats:**
- Temperature: -12°C & falling
- Wind: 17 knots, Northwest
- Snowfall Probability (Next 2 hrs): 78%
Ning DuGu's eyes turned cold at the "Next Patrol" line.
Two to four hours.
At his current speed, plus time melting snow and resting, reaching the heat source would take at least 40 more minutes.
If luck was bad and the Khitan patrol came early...
**[Suggestion: Increase movement speed or locate hiding spot.]**
The system suggested. Ning DuGu ignored it.
Increase speed? Walking was a miracle with this leg. Running? Suicide.
Hide? Where? This corpse pit was flat for three *li* in every direction. Not a single tree.
Keep moving was the only option.
He scrolled to page seven.
**[Page 7 of 17]**
=== **Viable Path Planning** ===
This page showed a detailed topographic map.
A 3D contour map drawn in green lines. Ning DuGu's position was a red dot. The "Heat Source" (412m Northwest) was an orange dot.
Between them, the system plotted three routes.
**[Path A: Direct Line (Shortest)]**
- Distance: 412m
- Terrain: Flat
- Risk: Exposed. Open sightlines.
- Est. Time: 47 min
- Recommendation: ★★☆☆☆
**[Path B: Detour Through Depressions]**
- Distance: 538m
- Terrain: Snow cover for concealment.
- Risk: Icy patches in depressions. High slip risk.
- Est. Time: 62 min
- Recommendation: ★★★☆☆
**[Path C: Skirt Dense Corpse Areas]**
- Distance: 489m
- Terrain: Corpses provide cover.
- Risk: Possible beast activity (foraging).
- Est. Time: 54 min
- Recommendation: ★★★★☆
Ning DuGu chose C.
Not because of the rating. Because... he needed more resources.
Path C was marked with thirteen "High-Value Corpse" locations. "High-Value" meant the system judged them to have more usable metal, cloth, or food residue.
He adjusted his bearing. Northwest by 15 degrees.
**[Path C Confirmed]**
**[Navigation Active...]**
A small map appeared in the lower-right of his interface. His position updated in real-time. Each "High-Value Corpse" ahead blinked with a different icon color:
- **Blue:** Metal Resources
- **Green:** Cloth Resources
- **Yellow:** Food Resources
- **Purple:** Mixed Resources
Ning DuGu looked at the blinking icons. He felt like he was playing a twisted treasure hunt.
Except the "treasure" was all dead people.
He reached the first blue icon.
A Khitan soldier frozen into an ice statue. Face twisted in a final grimace. A broken arrow protruded from an eye socket.
**[Target: Corpse #089]**
**[Resource Assessment:]**
- **Iron Vambraces ×2 (Intact. Weight: ~1.2kg total)**
- **Short Blade ×1 (In belt. Blade length: 37cm. Slight edge deformation)**
- **Copper Coins ×8 (Sewn into inner garment)**
Ning DuGu crouched. Started dismantling the vambraces.
They were secured by leather straps, now frozen solid like stone. He used the broken arrow he'd salvaged earlier to pry open the buckle clasps.
**[Dismantling Progress: 21%... 46%... 78%... Complete]**
**[Acquired: Iron Vambraces ×2]**
They were heavy.
Over a kilogram combined. The largest metal pieces he'd obtained so far.
The system offered suggestions.
**[Suggested Modification Plans:]**
**Plan 1:** Grind into blade edge. **(Requires tools. Time-consuming.)**
**Plan 2:** Use as blunt weapon directly. **(Low attack power. Defensive utility.)**
**Plan 3:** Smelt and recast. **(Requires heat source. Mold.)**
Ning DuGu chose Plan 2.
He bound one vambrace to his right forearm. Stuffed the other into his jacket. Then, he drew the short blade.
It was dull.
Two clear deformations on the edge. Rust. But for Ning DuGu—essentially unarmed—it was a treasure.
**[Weapon Slot Updated: Short Blade ×1 (Quality: Poor. Attack Power: 3-5)]**
Attack power 3 to 5.
Ning DuGu internally scoffed. *This piece of junk would struggle to kill a chicken.*
But something was better than nothing.
He moved on.
The second icon was green.
The third, yellow.
The fourth, purple.
Ning DuGu operated like an efficient scavenging machine, clearing each resource point along the 489-meter path.
At each stop, he followed the system's disassembly guides meticulously:
- Dismantle metal from joints to preserve edges.
- Strip cloth from less bloodstained areas.
- Search for food residue in chest folds, belts, boot linings.
The system, his tireless assistant, updated his **"Inventory"** in real-time.
**[Current Resource Tally:]**
- Iron Vambraces ×2
- Short Blade ×1 **(Poor)**
- Arrowheads ×9
- Copper Coins ×21
- Cloth ×3 pieces (Padded jackets: 2. Trousers: 1)
- Leather Belt ×1
- Ration Residue ×~50g (Bean cake crumbs)
Bean cake crumbs.
Found in the seventh corpse's inner pocket—an empty cloth pouch with some frozen crumbs stuck inside.
**[Food Analysis:]**
- Composition: Soybean, wheat bran, trace salt
- Mold Contamination: 37%
- Suggestion: Consume only uncontaminated portions
- Estimated Caloric Yield: ~120 kcal
Ning DuGu stared at the black, frozen crumbs clinging to the cloth for three seconds.
Then, he began picking them off.
Moldy ones, discarded.
Uncontaminated ones, into his mouth.
**[Consuming...]**
**[Calorie Intake: +32 kcal...+18 kcal...+41 kcal...]**
**[Starvation Level: 92% → 89% → 85%]**
The crumbs had no flavor.
Or rather, only the taste of mold and decay.
Ning DuGu chewed expressionlessly, as if it were a delicacy.
Because the system told him these crumbs bought him thirty more minutes.
Thirty minutes.
Enough to cover the final 200 meters.
When Ning DuGu finally saw the outline of the structure marking the "Heat Source," a new prompt appeared.
**[Environmental Scan Detailed Report: Read Complete]**
**[Resources Collected: Metal ×12, Cloth ×3, Food ×1, Copper Coins ×21]**
**[Survival Capability Assessment: Novice Scavenger]**
**[Achievement Unlocked: "Vulture of the Ruins"]**
**[Reward: Basic Crafting Function Unlocked]**
Ning DuGu ignored the reward notification.
He just stared ahead at the half-collapsed temple.
There was light there.
Faint, orange-yellow light. Torch or campfire light.
There were people there.
And Ning DuGu's hand was already gripping the rusted short blade at his waist.
---
**[System Log · Automatic Entry]**
**Distance Traveled: 489 meters**
**Time Elapsed: 54 minutes**
**Resources Collected: 12 items**
**Combat Encounters: 0**
**Morality Conflicts: 0**
**Note: Host demonstrates efficient resource acquisition and calm decision-making.**
**Survival instinct is overriding all else.**
---
**[End of Chapter]**
**Next Chapter Preview: 003 - "Precision Strike at the Fracture Point"**