Video game I Can Turn Waste Into Treasure novel Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Welcome to the Castaway Game

[Game Loading: 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…]

[Welcome to the Castaway Game. You have been assigned to Server 10001.]

Andrea Rowland was supposed to be in bed.

One second, she was shivering under a pile of blankets with a 104-degree fever and a brutal case of the flu.

The next, she was standing on a tiny patch of land, staring at an endless ocean in a total daze.

The biting sea breeze cut through her thin pajamas and socks. She let out a violent shudder as the cold hit her bones. ‘Where the hell am I?’

Before she could even process the shift, the mechanical voice in her head continued its drone.

[Please memorize the Game Rules:

[1. Every player begins with a starter island. The initial size is 20 square feet, and it is mobile.

[2. Use your fishing rod to salvage supplies for survival and island expansion.

[3. Supplies only appear during the day. Do not move or leave your island after dark, as monsters dwell in the deep.

[4. The first three days are a Newbie Protection Period. Within your island’s boundaries, NPCs and monsters will not initiate attacks.

[5. Players must travel six miles every day. Failure to meet this quota results in immediate erasure. (Exceptions: Resting on a main island or entering a dungeon).

[6. Random dungeons will trigger after the third day. Prepare accordingly.

[7. Death in this game is permanent. Value your life and do not take unnecessary risks.]

The announcement cut off, and a prompt directed Andrea to open her inventory. Inside was a single item: a fishing rod.

She pulled it out, only to stare in stunned silence. It was just a stick. No line, no hook, not even a reel. It was literally just a polished piece of wood.

“Oh, this is great,” she muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “The game could have just let me starve, but it decided to mock me with a useless stick instead. Real classy.”

[Player feedback received: Positive.]

[Error detected: System item is missing components. Searching for cause…]

[Cause unknown. Issuing replacement fishing rod and compensation package.]

[Detection Note: You are the only player to receive a Junk-Tier fishing rod.]

‘The only one? Just my luck.’ Andrea let out a sharp, frustrated laugh.

Before she could spiral further, another notification chimed in her mind, sounding distinct from the first.

[Congratulations! You have bound the “Unfortunate Trash Picker” System.

[Collect a designated amount of junk to receive rewards.

[Daily Perk: You may select one broken item to reforge and claim as your own.

[Note: Items broken by the player or their affiliates are ineligible. Intentional sabotage to trigger a reforge is prohibited.]

‘Wait, two systems?’ Her heart skipped a beat. ‘Is this some kind of cheat code?’

[Unfortunate Trash Picker Task: Collect 0/3 pieces of junk. Reward: 2 sets of thermal clothing, 2 sets of underwear.]

The reward was incredibly tempting. Andrea was already chattering her teeth, and the damp ocean air was sinking into her skin.

She patted her pajama pockets, but they were empty.

She scanned her tiny island, which was nothing but a barren slab of rock and sand.

There were a few small pebbles near her feet. ‘Maybe these count?’ she thought, trying to submit one to the system.

[Task submission failed. Item does not meet the criteria for “junk.”]

She let out a heavy sigh and kicked at the sand. ‘Well, so much for finding a loophole,’ she grumbled internally.

She turned her attention to her mail and claimed the compensation.

She received a functional fishing rod and something called an Identity Trial Card.

As soon as the new rod appeared, the broken stick vanished.

The description of the card caught her eye.

[Identity Trial Card: Allows the user to randomly assume an NPC identity. Can be used once every 8 days. Duration: 7 days.]

‘There’s no point in hoarding this if it refreshes every eight days,’ she reasoned. ‘I don’t know if this is a blessing or a curse, but I’m already in a survival game.

‘I might as well roll the dice.’

She activated the card. She didn’t feel a physical change, but a red warning box suddenly flashed in her vision.

[Warning: Stamina levels critically low. If stamina drops below 1, you will enter a “Weakened State.”]

A wave of exhaustion washed over her. Andrea quickly pulled up her personal status panel to see the damage.

[Player Profile:

[Name: Andrea Rowland

[Age: 23

[Strength: 18

[Constitution: 19

[Agility: 20

[Stamina: 5

[Status: NPC Trial Mode(7 Days Remaining)]

[Evaluation: You are remarkably fragile. Even a lazy college student has better stats than you. You might actually be the first person to starve to death.]

‘I need to catch some food right now, or I’m dead before the sun goes down,’ she realized, a cold knot of dread forming in her stomach.

Her first instinct was to steer clear.

A shark was technically a fish, but she wasn’t about to try and harvest its meat, and she certainly didn’t want to end up as its lunch.

She tried to pass it by, but curiosity got the better of her.

She brought her little island to a dead halt when she saw the truth.

The shark was tangled in a shredded fishing net, and caught in the mesh were a plastic bottle and some scraps of debris.

Andrea had covered nearly two miles without finding a single piece of salvage.

She had been panicking about failing her collection quest; if the temperature dropped again tonight without the right supplies, she would freeze.

To anyone else, it was just trash. To her, it was a lifeline.

The net was wrapped around the shark’s head. If the creature just backed up, it would slip right out, but the poor thing was being stubborn.

It kept lunging forward, only tightening the knot.

Andrea didn’t have anything sharp to cut it free, and since the trash was tangled right around its jaws, she didn’t dare reach in.

‘How am I supposed to get those out?’ she wondered, biting her lip.

“Hey! Back up!” she shouted, the desperation rising in her chest as the shark continued to struggle. “Stop pushing forward. Just back up and you’re free!”

She immediately felt ridiculous for the outburst. ‘Right, because sharks are famous for their language skills,’ she thought, shaking her head at her own desperation.

To her absolute shock, the shark stopped. Then, it actually started backing up.

‘No way. Did it seriously understand me?’ she mused, her eyes widening in disbelief.

She maneuvered her island back a few feet, just in case.

It wasn’t exactly fear. She was still in the Newbie Protection phase, and according to the rules, sharks couldn’t initiate an attack.

Still, she wasn’t about to test the system and accidentally trigger a defensive strike.

A moment later, the shark slipped free. It gave a joyful flick of its tail, looked at Andrea, and gave a sharp nod before disappearing into the depths.

She let out a long breath.

That was intense. Protection period or not, staring down a predator without a cage was enough to rattle anyone.

With the danger gone, she didn’t hesitate to move in and grab the loot.

[Task Item submitted successfully. Junk salvaged: 3/3. Rewards issued.]

[Next Tier: Submit 30 pieces of junk to receive rewards. Progress: 0/30. Reward: Bandage Kit Blueprint x1, Blood-Stanching Herbs x20.]

[Hidden Quest Triggered: Save the Trapped Shark. Objective: Collect Shark Teeth x50. Reward: Water Purifier Blueprint.]

Andrea stared at the notification in total disbelief. ‘Shark teeth? Are you kidding me?’