Survival for all, my island is the last pure land on earth.

The squirrel climbed onto Jin Xiaoman's neck and settled into a comfortable position: "Manman, I had a very real dream, on and off, so real that it felt like I had lived such a life."

In its dream, the treasure-hunting rat clan is naturally kinship-oriented, and the entire clan's lifelong goal is to find a master and then dedicate their lives to him, generation after generation.

So when the down-on-his-luck man asked the Treasure Rat if he was willing to sign a contract with him, the Treasure Rat nodded without hesitation and offered up all the treasure chests he had accumulated.

Unfortunately, in this world, stories are only beautiful at the beginning.

After witnessing the treasure-hunting rat's abilities, the man's ambition grew, and his desires became insatiable. He set increasingly difficult tasks for the rat, pushing it to its limits time and time again, and even imposing a series of punishments on it for failing to complete the tasks.

If a treasure chest is missing, you will be punished with ten lashes.

Missing five treasure chests will result in a penalty of fifty lashes plus no food.

If he's short twenty chests, he'll find a high place, tie the treasure-hunting rat's limbs together, and drop it down.

If fifty chests are missing, the treasure-hunting rat will be tied up and thrown into the fire until its skin is burned open, then it will be taken out and thrown into the freezing cold to freeze for a long time.

Treasure-hunting rats are naturally resilient; even if all four limbs are severed and internal organs are ruptured, they will slowly recover with sufficient food.

In the later stages of the game, almost no player will lack food, so it will be fed some food on the day it is punished to ensure that it does not die, and then it can continue to go out the next day.

It survived a whole year in such an environment.

That year, it never had a full meal.

That year, it became filthy, a little lame, and its tail, which it used to maintain its balance, was broken in half.

That year, it became less talkative, sensitive, timid, and afraid of humans.

Finally, one day, the man realized it was no longer useful, so he did the only thing that was kind to the treasure-hunting mouse: instead of tormenting it, he killed it with a single blow.

As the squirrel spoke, it trembled all over: "Manman, am I stupid? I can't even tell the difference between dreams and reality, and because of this, I didn't listen to you."

Jin Xiaoman: "How could that be? You're not stupid at all. You're the smartest and most obedient baby in the world."

Jin Xiaoman gently stroked the squirrel's tail with her fingers; it was still fluffy and beautiful, as soft as the clouds in the sky.

She still remembers that the squirrel's favorite sleeping position is to wrap itself up with its big tail. It says that it feels very safe to sleep like this. She wonders how the squirrel in her dreams, without its tail, survives each night.

Jin Xiaoman felt a tightness in her chest.

That's why Mouse was so scared when she first held him.

Therefore, it usually eats very quickly.

So, that day it pretended not to hear Jin Xiaoman's calls and chose to jump down from the tree by itself.

Squirrel: "Manman, sometimes I feel like I can't tell which one is the dream. I'm so afraid that when I open my eyes, you'll be gone."

"No, dreams are always the opposite of reality. I will always be here."

"Really?"

Jin Xiaoman gently stroked the squirrel: "Really."

Something warm dripped onto the squirrel, and the squirrel cried out, "Manman!"

Jin Xiaoman: "Yes, I'm here. Go to sleep. When you open your eyes tomorrow, you'll be greeted by Xiangxiang's purifying heart."

Jin Xiaoman hummed a nursery rhyme to lull the squirrel to sleep, but she herself couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

This was the first time she had experienced insomnia since starting the game.

Jin Xiaoman knew very well that ever since she entered the game, she had been clinging to a glimmer of hope, thinking that the game was just a dream and that maybe one day she would wake up and be back with her grandmother.

But the sea during the day made her realize clearly that she had truly entered a bizarre game.

The squirrel's confession at night made her realize that running away from problems is useless, and that there are some things she needs to consider.

Her mission in the game was to survive for a year, but if she survived a year and successfully left the game, what about the squirrel?

Will I abandon it when the time comes?

If you leave the squirrel in the game, can you accept that it actually encounters such a scoundrel and then recognizes it as its owner?

Of course not.

Jin Xiaoman slapped her thigh; she had to find a way to take the squirrel away.

"Hiss~"

I went too far.

She rubbed her thigh, which had a handprint on it, quietly covered the squirrel with the blanket, and ran to the living room to shake A-Ye awake: "Do you know any way to take things out of the game?"

A-Ye's eyes were glazed over, but the robot's brain was functioning smoothly: "Sorry, this question involves game secrets, and I have had all related memories erased."

Human brain: "Mandarin, you can reach 100% island exploration."

The two looked at each other, and Jin Xiaoman clapped her hands: "Is this considered a bug?"

Even Ah Ye herself was stunned, and she stammered, "I guess...they...failed their duty."

Jin Xiaoman didn't dwell on the question further: "Then do you know how to increase the island's exploration rate?"

So far, her island exploration progress has increased twice. The first time was when she killed the mutated deer, and the second time was when she completed the mountain lord's mission, but they seem to have no connection at all.

A-Ye: "I don't know about that."

This answer was expected.

Jin Xiaoman nodded: "Okay, you can go to sleep now."

She got up and walked back to the bedroom, where moonlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting a narrow, silvery shadow on the floor.

The deserted island was still bustling in the darkness, with the occasional roar of a mutated beast echoing through the air. It was easy to tell that their fights were brutal and realistic.

Jin Xiaoman stood by the window for a long time, while Lilith leaped onto a tree branch and gazed at her from afar.

Those emerald green eyes were still beautiful, but this time Jin Xiaoman read something else in them.

Jin Xiaoman thought, perhaps, she knew what to do....