Whole School Transmigrated: I Have 3 Daily Intel

Chapter 4: Chapter 2: Searching for Food, Card Settlement?

The river water wasn’t murky; in fact, it was quite clear.

The red that was now gushing to the surface was blindingly stark.

So stark that Chen Chong and Xu Jun could see it with perfect clarity from at least a hundred meters away.

"Ah, AAAAAAH!"

After a few seconds of stunned silence, the five boys frozen by the riverbank let out high-pitched shrieks. They didn’t even have time to grab their clothes, scrambling away in utter terror.

Three of the five were quick on their feet, sprinting a hundred meters in ten seconds. Another was so terrified his limbs gave out, forcing him to crawl and squirm away. The last one simply burst into tears...

But no one found the comical scene the least bit funny. What had just happened left everyone’s mind a complete blank.

People had just died!

A dozen or so other boys, who were a bit farther away, were also terrified. Even though they were still some distance from the river, witnessing the horrific scene firsthand made them instinctively retreat a few steps.

The more timid ones either joined the screaming and fled, or their legs simply gave out, and they collapsed to their knees...

"Brother... Brother Chong, did you see that clearly?" Xu Jun’s voice trembled.

"I got a bit of a look. I think... it was a catfish?" Chen Chong replied after a few seconds.

"A catfish?"

Xu Jun turned to him, his lips drained of all color. The shock had simply been too great.

It was the first time they had ever witnessed their classmates die so horribly. Two living people, gone in the blink of an eye, leaving behind nothing but a pool of blood. It was a miracle they didn’t vomit on the spot.

"A catfish that big? If I saw that right, it must have been over ten meters long—bigger than a regular truck, more like a semi-trailer!"

"How should I know why it’s so big? All I know is it looked like a catfish. And it seemed to have a horn on its head, like a narwhal," Chen Chong added.

Xu Jun thought for a moment. "I think I saw a horn, too. What kind of monster is that? It’s even more ridiculous than the Overlord Wolf."

It had all happened too suddenly and ended too quickly.

Almost no one had gotten a clear look at the giant black shadow’s true form. To Chen Chong, the figure had strongly resembled a catfish, just ridiculously oversized and with a horn on its head.

Xu Jun’s view had been even fuzzier; he had only made out its immense size and the horn...

"Alright, let’s go. We can’t stay by the river. We’ll just search the area around the school."

Chen Chong was the first to turn and leave, but it wasn’t because he was unaffected.

’Was he scared?’

’Yes.’

’Were his legs weak?’

’They were.’

’Should he run back to the dorm and hide?’

’Hide?’

’Absolutely not.’

Chen Chong had anticipated that people would die ever since he realized he’d been transported to this new world.

He just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon, or to witness it with his own eyes.

Scared or not, survival was the one goal he couldn’t avoid.

There wasn’t much food at the school, only what was in the cafeteria and the tuck shop. But there wasn’t nearly enough for everyone to share.

The cafeteria’s ingredients were delivered fresh every morning. They had been transported here in the pre-dawn hours, so besides a few leftovers in the freezers, there would be hardly any supplies.

Besides, by now, both places had likely been looted clean. He wouldn’t get a turn.

’Even if I get lucky and manage to snatch something, what would it be?’

’A few loaves of bread? A couple packs of instant noodles? A few bags of spicy gluten snacks? Or maybe a couple of vegetable leaves?’

’It’s not even enough for one day. And after that? Then what?’

’And I’d risk getting injured.’

’In this world, getting injured or sick is often more fatal than starvation. Rather than risk fighting thousands of students over scraps, it’s better to search in this jungle.’

’I’m not just looking for food; I’m scouting the surrounding environment to plan for long-term survival.’

’I’ll have to face this sooner or later, so I might as well face it now. Maybe... fate rewards the pioneers...’

"Brother Chong, there are raspberries over here!"

After walking slowly through the jungle for half an hour, Xu Jun let out a surprised cry, having spotted something up ahead. He excitedly rushed toward it.

Chen Chong hurried to catch up. He broke into a smile when he saw the small red berries growing on thorny branches.

Raspberries. The kind many people just call wild berries.

They’re common in many places, preferring to grow on mountainsides and in the wild. Many kids from the countryside have eaten them before. They have a delicious, sweet-and-sour taste.

The only drawback was their size—they were only about half as big as a pinky nail. Plus, the vines were covered in tiny thorns, making them difficult to pick.

"This is great. Let’s pick as many as we can. We can get some vitamins from them!"

With that, Chen Chong and Xu Jun got to work. Having no bags, they simply took off their shirts to use as makeshift sacks.

Before long, their shirts were filled to the brim.

Despite getting numerous scratches, they couldn’t contain their joy at the sight of their bountiful harvest.

It was the first time the two of them had felt genuinely happy since being transported here...

"It’s a shame we couldn’t get them all. If we wanted to, we’d need another two shirts to carry them," Xu Jun said with a sigh, looking at the bush, still heavy with red berries.

"This is plenty," Chen Chong said, more than satisfied. "The two of us couldn’t possibly strip this whole bush clean. Besides, I doubt they’ll keep for long. We should eat them as soon as we get back."

"True. This is enough for a day!" Xu Jun said with a simple-minded grin.

"We’ll leave the rest for the next lucky person," Chen Chong said, glancing at the darkening sky and preparing to head back.

Just then, a rustling sound came from the bushes behind them...

The two, who had been elated just a moment before, felt their hearts clench. They snatched their weapons from the ground and whirled around.

When they saw it was just three other students, also out searching for food, they breathed a sigh of relief. They had thought it was a beast...

"Hey, classmates. You can’t just hoard the good stuff. We’re all from the same school; we should be helping each other out!" the leader, a young man in a yellow shirt, said in an unfriendly tone.

Hearing this, Chen Chong’s brow furrowed.

’Starting off by trying to guilt-trip us from the moral high ground?’

Xu Jun glanced at Chen Chong and said nothing, but he hefted the Fire Axe in his hands.

He had always followed Chen Chong’s lead, and now was no different.

’If Chen Chong gives the word to fight, hesitating for even a second would be a betrayal of their brotherhood!’

"Which one of your ears heard me say you couldn’t pick them?" Chen Chong’s tone was ice-cold.

The yellow-shirted youth got closer, and his eyes widened when he saw their weapons. ’This is bad,’ he thought. ’I was too hasty.’

’I didn’t get a good look before. Their weapons are on another level compared to mine. If we really fight, can I even win?’

Before he could say anything, however, the shifty-eyed, skinny youth behind him, who was holding a broomstick, piped up angrily.

"Who do you think you are, talking to my brother like that?"

"Oh?" Chen Chong’s expression was frigid. "I said what I said. You want to make something of it?"

As he spoke, he brandished the iron laundry pole in his hand.

Xu Jun immediately raised his Fire Axe, looking ready to charge and cut someone down at a moment’s notice.

The three of them instinctively took a step back at the sight.

The yellow-shirted youth’s face paled. He cursed inwardly, ’Useless idiot! Didn’t you see what they’re holding? What the hell are you trying to prove?’

’Even though we outnumber them by one, our weapons are a joke in comparison.’

’One of us has a wooden laundry pole, another has a broomstick, and the last guy has nothing but a branch he picked up off the ground.’

’If a fight really breaks out, getting hit by that giant axe... I don’t even want to imagine how much that would suck.’

’It’s best to avoid a fight if possible.’

The yellow-shirted youth immediately forced a smile. He had no desire to clash with a man holding an axe, so he decided to back down on the-spot.

"Ahaha, my mistake! So you didn’t mean it that way. I was being petty, I apologize..."

Chen Chong ignored his apology. He was already leaving anyway. He just walked straight past them, laundry pole in hand.

Xu Jun hurried to follow, but not before shooting them a fierce glare and spitting on the ground at their feet, a clear display of contempt.

The three of them flinched, but looking at the disparity in their weapons, they could only force their smiles and say nothing.

Once Chen Chong and Xu Jun were gone, the three of them rushed forward like madmen, copying what they’d seen by taking off their own shirts to start picking.

However, they apparently had no idea that raspberry bushes have thorns. They probably hadn’t even seen one before. They only knew the berries were edible because they’d seen Chen Chong and Xu Jun picking them. Acting on instinct, they tried to dive right into the bush, aiming to climb the main stalk to get to the bigger berries at the top.

As a result, they charged in too aggressively and were instantly pierced through. Countless thorny vines ensnared them, leaving them unable to move forward or backward.

Every movement caused the densely packed thorns to dig into their flesh, tearing at them painfully. In a matter of seconds, they were covered in blood.

They had hundreds of cuts, not to mention all the thorns still embedded in their skin.

Even if the thorns weren’t poisonous, they would be in so much pain for the next few days that they wouldn’t be able to rest.

Their wails of agony echoed through the jungle...

Xu Jun, who hadn’t gotten far, chuckled. "Tch! Serves them right!"

Chen Chong didn’t gloat. Instead, he just shook his head with a sigh.

’Human nature...’ he thought. ’It’s only the first day, and it’s already showing its ugly side. I wonder what things will be like later on...’

For the next few hours, the two of them continued to search the nearby area.

Shaken by the earlier encounters with the Overlord Wolf and the Giant Catfish, neither of them dared to venture too far, sticking to the perimeter of the school grounds.

As a result, their harvest was small. Apart from the raspberries, they only managed to find a single bird’s nest with eggs.

There were six of them, each about the size of a quail egg.

During their search, they ran into several other students, both boys and girls, who were also out looking for food.

Judging by their relaxed attitudes, however, they probably hadn’t seen the Overlord Wolf at the back gate or the monster in the river. They seemed completely unaware of the terrifying creatures that inhabited this world.

"Looks like this world isn’t just home to monstrous beasts; there are still plenty of plants and animals from Earth here."

Although they didn’t find much food, Chen Chong and Xu Jun’s expedition wasn’t without other rewards.

Their biggest gain was a better understanding of the Primitive Jungle.

Along the way, they had seen plenty of familiar plants, like the raspberries from earlier, as well as common weeds they recognized but couldn’t name.

The same went for animals. They spotted wild rabbits, squirrels, and even a few deer that got spooked and ran off.

Unfortunately, without bows, arrows, or traps, they had no way of catching them...

All of this suggested that this Primitive Jungle wasn’t too different from one on Earth. Aside from the trees being more lush and primeval, and the addition of a few monstrously large and bizarre beasts, it was nearly identical.

This knowledge put Chen Chong slightly more at ease.

’If every animal here were a monster, I wouldn’t even know what’s safe to eat.’

’But with familiar animals around, at least there’s a chance to hunt...’

"It’s getting dark. We should head back," Chen Chong said, looking wearily at the sky.

"Sounds good. We got a decent haul anyway. We’ll come back out tomorrow!" Xu Jun yawned, clearly exhausted as well.

Neither of them had slept the previous night, and the day after being transported here had been nonstop. They were long past the point of exhaustion.

They quickly retraced their steps back to their dorm room, locked the door, and set their things down. Neither felt like eating; they just collapsed onto their beds and instantly fell asleep.

Hours passed in the blink of an eye, and the time came to midnight.

In a groggy haze, Chen Chong thought he heard a voice ringing in his ears...

[Daily settlement beginning. Your performance and gains over the past day will now be evaluated to determine your score and Rating, which will be automatically exchanged for a corresponding Card reward.]

[In the past day, you cooperated with a partner to gather a portion of edible berries and three edible bird eggs.]

[Score: 15 Points]

[Rating: C-]

[Reward: Resource Card · Refined Iron Dagger]

...