Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Mountain Chaser Xu Yang
Xu Yang gazed into the distance, where a lush, vibrant range of mountains filled his view.
This was Changbai Mountain.
Xu Yang's family lived in a village at the foot of Changbai Mountain, where they ran a small supermarket, and life was fairly decent.
From a young age, he had been a diligent student, consistently achieving good academic results, and had spent four years at university in the Capital City.
Having just graduated from university, he had decided not to stay in Capital City but to return to his hometown instead.
He loved the scenery of nature, the wildlife, and the open, quiet spaces of the primordial forest.
So, Xu Yang planned to apply to become a ranger of Changbai Mountain.
Not only would this provide him with a stable position, but also the chance to do what he loved.
"Securing a government job is the endgame," as they say.
Actually, Xu Yang was not too concerned about the official position, but since he wanted to be close to nature, he still needed some security.
Gazing at the distant mountain range, he felt an openness that made his mood expansive, and his body relaxed from the inside out.
It was July, the sun was plentiful, dazzling, and brilliant.
"It's July now, about time for the villagers to go up the mountain to dig for ginseng."
"Every year in July and August, we go dig for Wild Ginseng. If we're lucky and find an old Wild Ginseng, we can make tens of thousands."
"I'll ask if I can join them this year."
Xu Yang thought to himself.
Digging for Wild Ginseng was a tradition in their village.
Digging for Wild Ginseng was not simple; it often required two or three experienced masters to lead the team, with a total of twenty to thirty people together.
Then, they would set up a temporary camp at the foot of the mountain, and after offering sacrifices to the Mountain God, everyone would line up in a single file and ascend the mountain together in search.
Such activities were rare nowadays.
Xu Yang was very interested in the things of the mountain.
He used to love running into the mountains when he was a child.
The villagers always said it was a miracle that he hadn't been carried off by a bear.
After all, Changbai Mountain really did have bears.
And also Northeast Tigers and Leopards.
"Host's health status detected as normal, binding Mountain Rushing System..."
Just then, a strange voice echoed in Xu Yang's head.
Xu Yang's expression subtly changed, and he was stunned for a moment.
Was that voice just now...
A system?
Xu Yang thought he was hallucinating, but then, the system's voice sounded again.
"Mountain Rushing System binding successful."
"Congratulations, host, on obtaining your basic gift pack. The basic gift pack is opening:"
"Congratulations, host, for unlocking the Treasure Compass feature:"
"Treasure Compass (Basic): Use it to locate random treasures within a 3 kilometer radius in the forest, including harvestable plants, gold, silver, jewels, meteorites, and more. Current daily usage once. Unused opportunities accumulate up to three times."
"Congratulations, host, on obtaining items:"
"Drone*1: A drone for live broadcasting, strong in silent effect; can fly continuously for 20 hours when fully charged."
"Smartphone*1."
"The Mountain Rushing System gains reputation points through live broadcasting, which can be used to draw for rewards."
"Once reputation points accumulate to a certain level, the Treasure Compass can be upgraded."
Hearing the system's voice, Xu Yang was momentarily stunned.
This system actually existed!
Xu Yang could feel the system and see the options for the Treasure Compass.
He could locate treasures within 3 kilometers of nature just by choosing to use it.
And it would prioritize ownerless items.
This was nothing short of a divine tool for mountain rushing!
Having grown up in a village at the foot of the mountain, Xu Yang was very aware of the many treasures hidden in the mountain.
Various wild vegetables, wild fruits, including the valuable Wild Ginseng.
Of course, many treasures were protected plants, not to be disturbed carelessly.
Xu Yang briefly familiarized himself with the system's features.
Audiences watching the live stream experienced joy, shock, satisfaction, and envy, emotions that the system required.
In turn, the system provided lottery rewards to Xu Yang.
Xu Yang started the live broadcast to gain popularity value, used the popularity value for the lottery, and the system obtained the needed emotions, a win-win situation.
Aside from that, the system did not interfere with Xu Yang in any way.
It was just a tool.
"This is actually real!"
"Mountain Rushing System!"
Xu Yang regained his composure from the excitement, his eyes still sparkling with thrill.
The July sun beamed down from above, slightly scorching.
A refreshing breeze blew from the direction of Changbai Mountain, ruffling his hair and bringing him a bit of cool relief.
At this moment, Xu Yang felt as though everything had changed.
His original plan was to become a Forest Patrol Officer, accompany the mountains, and take care of the animals there. While satisfying his own interests, he would also secure a living.
He felt a bit lost, uncertain about the future.
Actually, he just loved nature, but didn't want to live a repetitive day-to-day life, yet passing the civil service exam was his best choice.
There was no choice, for the vast majority of ordinary people, there simply weren't many options.
But now, with the system, Xu Yang no longer needed to worry about making money to support himself, because he would certainly not be short of money.
He could focus more on what he loved.
"Mountain Rushing..."
Xu Yang closed his eyes, and in his mind, the mountains, rivers, and streams of Huaxia coalesced into a magnificent map, slowly unfolding.
The vast and profound earth, the mysterious and unknown excitements, all rushed at him from this map.
Huaxia was so vast, he wanted to see it.
He didn't know how long it would take to traverse all these mountains and rivers.
But Xu Yang really wanted to see them.
Then, Xu Yang opened his eyes, took out a drone for the live broadcast, and a brand new smartphone from the system.
This was indeed real.
He had obtained the system.
"Get ready, I'm heading into the mountains tomorrow."
"Though I can't venture deep into the mountain ranges, just the mountains nearby the village are enough to keep me busy for days."
"I'll try out the Treasure Compass's functionality, see what good stuff I can dig up."
Xu Yang calculated in his mind.
His life had now begun.
.....
The next day, the weather was beautiful, with bright sunshine.
Early in the morning, Xu Yang, carrying the drone, headed into the mountains.
Xu Yang activated the "Smart Companion Flight Mode", where the drone would continuously follow him, focusing on him as the center of the frame.
The drone had a built-in camera with excellent performance and extreme stability; under normal circumstances, there would be no shaking at all, making for a pleasant viewing experience for the audience.
The live streaming platform Xu Yang chose was Tiktok.
Although his personal account had very few followers, it was still possible to start a live stream.
His personal account was named "Mountain Chaser Xu Yang".
The live broadcast title was: Today, into the mountains to seek treasures.
The current number of people in the live room was: 0
This was normal since Xu Yang's account had nothing on it and starting a broadcast would naturally start from zero.
His live broadcast was quickly categorized into the "Outdoor Section".
As it was a new account, it was protected for new users, and Tiktok's algorithm allocated him a traffic pool of a hundred people.
Simply put, a hundred people who liked or had watched outdoor live broadcasts would come across Xu Yang's video.
How many would stay depended on how interesting the live show was.
It was summer, the trees were lush, and the grass was green and soft.
The scenery in the live room was very beautiful.
When someone stumbled upon Xu Yang's broadcast, intrigued by the title, they briefly stayed in Xu Yang's live room.
The number of people in the live room also began to slowly change.