The Queen of Scrolls never admits defeat

Xiao Xiao knew that the "game" "Doomsday" seemed lenient, but in reality, it had extremely strict control over resources.

Initial mental strength is a player's most valuable original capital, almost determining their purchasing power and potential.

Initial mental strength varies, with some having only a pitiful single-digit mental strength and others having only thirty or fifty points.

The usual methods of restoring and accumulating mental energy in the game—eating and drinking well, resting safely, engaging in construction activities, and improving one's quality of life—provide negligible and incredibly slow mental energy gains.

Therefore, players in the past jokingly called it a "difficult to level up and no fun" trash game. If it weren't for its unparalleled sense of realism and immersion, probably no one would have played it long ago.

Most ordinary players are accustomed to relying on their initial mental energy to exchange for gem coins to buy basic survival supplies during the game, living a life of "living paycheck to paycheck" or even "overspending," resulting in a huge waste.

Only a very few players know that meditation and the related magical learning are the only truly efficient ways to improve and restore mental strength!

But this road is also full of thorns.

Meditation requires talent, patience, and proper guidance. To truly get started, you need to consume a lot of {meditation experience cards}.

The higher the initial mental strength value, the greater the mental potential, the faster you can get started, and the easier it is to learn.

Xiao Xiao's initial mental strength of 58 points is definitely among the top-tier qualities of all players.

In her previous life, due to a lack of access to information, she completely wasted this talent, only embarking on the path of meditation long after the apocalypse, thus missing the most precious golden period of development.

She vowed to seize every advantage she could in this lifetime.

Gem coins must not be spent recklessly!

The first month after the game launches is an absolutely crucial golden period for development that should not be missed.

During this period, there were no extreme cold or heat, no acid rain or hurricanes, and the cost of living was very low.

Xiao Xiao made up her mind that she would not buy any food in the game during this period.

If you eat and drink well in real life and store enough calories before entering the game, the game mechanism will synchronize your real-life physical condition, greatly slowing down the rate at which hunger increases in the game.

As long as she calculates the time difference between reality and the game and arranges her offline eating and resting in a reasonable manner, she can achieve "zero food consumption" in the early stages of the game.

As for the punishment of death?

This game does not have traditional levels or experience points. The only penalty for a player's death is the erasure of all "construction gains" made by that character during the current game cycle; cards and items not collected into the card album will also be lost.

However, as long as she doesn't engage in any substantial construction activities, and doesn't buy {Tool Cards} and {Food Cards} that can't be added to her deck after materialization, death is just a loss of game time for her, which she can completely afford.

Every gem coin should be used wisely: to purchase {Meditation Cards}, {Magic Cards}, expand card album space, and upgrade the card shop level. Everything else is secondary.

Having clarified her thoughts, she used the {Meditation Experience Card}.

The card turned into specks of light and vanished, instantly enveloping her in a familiar sense of cool tranquility.

Flames, flowing water, green grass, earth, breeze... various meditative patterns symbolizing different elements or moods rotated and appeared in her consciousness.

She remembered the image of the flame—vibrant, warm, and with a hint of heat—particularly clearly, and it made it easier for her to concentrate.

"Fire... I really do have a stronger affinity for fire." Xiao Xiao realized this in her heart. In her previous life, when she used magic cards, fire-type magic cards were the most effective!
She stopped being distracted and focused all her attention on the various meditation patterns, her breathing becoming long and slow as her mind calmed down.

An hour flew by in meditation.

With the card deactivated, Xiao Xiao was instantly pulled out of that mysterious state, and a strong sense of lingering regret welled up in his heart.

She immediately checked her status. [Mental Strength: 3/58]

[Gem Coins: 27]

She extracted the restored spiritual energy into gem coins, and collected 30 gem coins.

[Consume 30 Gem Coins to obtain {Meditation Experience Card - Level 0} x3]

Gem Coin Balance: 0

Without pausing, she immediately used one of the cards and once again immersed herself in the world of meditation.

This time, she focused more on the fire meditation diagram.
After an unknown amount of time, she "senses" a faint yet incredibly clear "flow of energy." The flame meditation diagram she had been drawing with her mind appeared, flowing slowly and steadily into the space between her eyebrows.

"This is... mental power!"

Xiao Xiao was shaken to her core, almost breaking free from her meditative state. She suppressed her excitement and tried to maintain the tranquility of her consciousness, wanting to capture this feeling more clearly.

However, that fleeting sense of awareness vanished as quickly as a startled fish.

But the instant it disappeared, Xiao Xiao was absolutely certain that he had just touched the traces of the flow of "spiritual power"!

Although it lasted only a moment, it was undoubtedly a landmark breakthrough!

Once you get a first time, you'll get a second and a third! As long as you can consistently perceive the existence and flow of spiritual energy, you're not far from truly "introspecting" your own spiritual sea.

She used a {Meditation Experience Class - Level 0} again.

After this deep meditation experience, her memory of the fire meditation diagram has reached a relatively profound level.

"A few more times... no, maybe just once, and I can try to use this picture to meditate on my own, without relying on the {Meditation Experience Card - Level Zero}!"

Xiao Xiao's eyes gleamed with excitement.

If she can achieve this, it means she can break free from her absolute dependence on the {Meditation Experience Card - Level 0} and achieve initial "self-sufficient" meditation, which will save her a lot of gem coins!
Soon, the effect of the third {Meditation Experience Card} also ended.

Xiao Xiao slowly opened her eyes, let out a long breath, and felt a clarity and focus in her mind that she had never felt before.

She retrieved her personal information:
[Mental Strength: 9/58]

[Gem Coins: 0]

Even if Xiao Xiao converted his mental energy into gem coins, it wouldn't be enough to buy another {Meditation Experience Card - Level Zero}, but he wasn't disappointed.

She felt she had almost memorized the fire meditation diagram and could try meditating on her own!
Without the guidance of the {meditation experience card}, Xiao Xiao discovered how difficult it was for her to meditate.

The ruins are not silent at night.

The rustling of unknown insects in the distance, the whistling sound of the wind passing through the cracks in the broken walls, and even the occasional slight sound of tiny grains of sand rolling down from above, all became exceptionally clear, constantly tugging at her attention.

After sitting in a relatively still position for more than four hours, my body began to protest.

My lower back ached, my buttocks were numb from the hard ground, and blood circulation in my legs didn't seem to be very smooth. To make matters worse, a vague feeling of hunger came from my stomach.

These physical discomforts, like tiny needles, constantly pricked her nerves, making it difficult for her to fully relax and enter a meditative state. (End of Chapter)