Bai Mu was escorted to a hotel with extremely high security protocols. Armed guards in bulletproof vests stood watch at the main entrance.
The very moment he was discovered, he became an overnight sensation. Within just a few hours, news of his survival had spread to every corner of the internet.
The photographs Stephen took were uploaded to the Time Weekly website as an exclusive feature. Even more explosive revelations were slated for publication in their upcoming print editions and media broadcasts.
As the current darling of the press, media executives had invited him to this hotel under the guise of allowing him to rest and recover from his ordeal. In reality, Bai Mu knew they were just trying to prevent any first-hand information from leaking to rivals, aiming to keep the public's eyes glued firmly to their own social media platforms.
Traffic was money. Traffic was a resource.
And Bai Mu, situated right at the center of all this traffic, was naturally treated with the utmost importance.
Beyond that, given the catastrophic loss of life in this disaster, the authorities also needed to collect evidence and question him before the investigation could be officially concluded.
Over the past three days, Bai Mu had memorized the name and background of every single passenger on that cruise ship.
He hadn't found a single corpse around the island or the shipwreck. This was highly anomalous, giving him every reason to believe these people had never actually existed; they were simply "Script background" fabricated by Paradise.
Yet the public and the media turned a blind eye to these glaring inconsistencies.
This made him realize even more profoundly just how mysterious Paradise truly was.
He carefully laid out his most pressing priorities:
—Test the rules, figure out the rules, and use the rules to survive.
The thirty-day mark arrived. Bai Mu stood on the hotel balcony, looking down at the streets below.
Stephen had contacted him that morning, mentioning a new round of interviews and that a few police officers wanted to meet with him.
But time was running out. An intangible clock ticked away in Bai Mu's mind. The Main Quest to survive for thirty days would be completed in less than an hour.
Exactly thirty days ago, he had spawned on that deserted island with absolutely nothing. Now, thirty days later, he was standing in a twenty-sixth-floor VIP suite of a luxury hotel, enjoying steak, fine wine, and premium cigarettes.
He scrutinized the steak resting on the bone china plate in front of him, and a virtual panel of information materialized before his eyes.
[Name: Dry-Aged Filet Mignon]
[Type: Food]
[Quality: Rare]
[Note: This is a top-tier steak that the vast majority of people will never get to taste in their entire lives. It is more than just a piece of meat; from the culinary techniques used to prepare it, to the chef who cooked it, and even the plate it rests upon, every aspect represents wealth and luxury.]
He picked up his knife and fork, cutting a piece to savor. It was incredibly tender, bursting with rich juices, and perfectly complemented by the black pepper sauce.
It was delicious. Yet to him, it was merely that—delicious.
The deadline had finally arrived. The thirty-day limit was up.
Bai Mu had calculated the time perfectly. He sat alone in the room.
Footsteps echoed from outside the door. Stephen had returned.
"Bai! Are you awake?!"
Before Bai Mu could respond to the Reporter he had known for barely five days, a voice chimed in his ear.
"Main Quest completed. You have finished the Script and will be automatically teleported to the Community."
The moment those words fell, it was as if someone had hit the pause button on the world.
Everything froze. All external sounds vanished completely.
A flash of white light blinded his vision.
It happened in a split second. By the time his sight returned, he found that he was no longer in the luxury hotel suite.
He was standing in a one-bedroom apartment. It closely resembled a standard single hotel room—roughly thirty square meters in size, furnished with a bed, a desk, and a glass-partitioned bathroom.
The place came equipped with basic amenities: a water heater, a hairdryer, a showerhead, and an induction cooktop. There was even a gas stove, a cutting board, and a kitchen knife. It was basically a fully furnished studio apartment ready for immediate move-in. The only problem was that Bai Mu couldn't find a single window.
It was an entirely enclosed room, offering absolutely no vantage point to catch a glimpse of the outside world.
Subjectively speaking, it only took a flash of white light to bring him here. His clothing had changed as well. He had been wearing the fresh outfit provided by the rescue fleet, but now he was back in the starting gear he'd been wearing when he first spawned on the island.
A garish, colorful short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts. The only difference was that his clothes were perfectly dry now, rather than completely soaked in seawater.
The thirty days he had spent on the island and the rescue ship felt like nothing more than a long dream.
No, more accurately, this windowless room—and everything he was experiencing right now—felt much more like a dream. This illogical scenario was something that should only exist in a dreamscape.
[Script "Deserted Island Survival" completed. Calculating rewards.]
[Hidden Quest "The Inescapable Island" completed detected. Rating increased. Reward: Roulette Draw x1.]
[Hidden Quest "Headline News" completed detected. Rating increased. Reward: Roulette Draw x1.]
[Current Script completion rate: 100%]
[Items/Equipment obtained: None.]
[Skills obtained: None.]
[Bloodlines obtained: None.]
[Title obtained: Survival Master.]
[Title obtained: Walking Headline.]
[Your comprehensive Script rating is: S. Points and Community Time earned are multiplied to 150% of the base amount.]
[You have received 300 Points and 108 hours of Community Time.]
[Community Menu unlocked.]
A glowing display, much like an electronic screen, materialized before Bai Mu's eyes as a massive block of information scrolled past.
The virtual interface hovering before him resembled a video game menu, giving off a strong futuristic sci-fi vibe. Compared to when he was back on the island, this menu allowed him to view his attribute values much more intuitively.
In the bottom right corner of the menu was a countdown timer.
Remaining Community Time: 107:58:12. The numbers ticked down with every passing second, instilling a subtle sense of urgency in him.
His attribute panel remained identical to what he had seen on the island. The only difference was the addition of his two newly acquired titles.
[Title: Survival Master]
[Title Grade: B]
[Effect: Reduces the depletion rate of Satiety and physical energy. Grants an additional 20% maximum capacity to your Health and Stamina.]
[Unlock Condition: Complete any survival-type Script while maintaining a continuous state of good health and high spirits.]
...
[Title: Walking Headline]
[Title Grade: Unique]
[Effect: Equipping this title will massively attract the attention of certain humanoid Script characters. There is a chance of being mistaken for a media personality.]
[Unlock Condition: ???]
After reviewing the effects, Bai Mu equipped [Survival Master] in his attribute slot. On his panel, his Health and Stamina bars instantly expanded by a fifth, a change visible to the naked eye.
This enhancement translated directly into his physical condition as well.
He could distinctly feel his energy levels rise, akin to the refreshing sensation of waking up from a perfectly comfortable afternoon nap.
"This is starting to feel more and more like a video game," Bai Mu muttered, clenching his fists.