Universal Shelter: I have a gold entry at each level!

001: A Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland

“I really didn’t expect this—I actually transmigrated into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Is this fate giving me another chance?”

Mu Liang still couldn’t wrap his head around how something as bizarre as transmigration had happened to him.

After five days of recuperation, his military training had allowed him to gather some basic intelligence.

This world was far larger than Earth, yet it was desolate and ruined. Civilization had all but collapsed.

The land was barren, incapable of growing crops, and stretched endlessly into desolation.

Rainfall was scarce, and when it did rain, it was acidic.

The sky was often covered in dust, allowing sunlight to only occasionally reach the ground.

“At this rate, I’ll be fully recovered in another day or two.”

Mu Liang moved his arms, feeling the soreness finally dissipate.

After five days of rest, his strength was gradually returning.

He pried open a gap in the wooden shack’s door, peering outside.

The sun was setting in the west, casting a dim glow over the barren wasteland. Not a single speck of greenery was in sight.

“A wasteland straight out of an apocalypse. On Earth, this would just be a simulation. But here, it’s my reality.”

Back on Earth, Mu Liang had been an orphan. Unable to afford college tuition, he had enlisted in the military halfway through his studies.

Five years as a special forces soldier had left him with lingering injuries, forcing him to retire.

He had planned to use the skills he had learned in the military to become a short-video content creator, focusing on wilderness survival.

But fate had other plans. A sudden earthquake triggered a ground fissure, and Mu Liang was caught in it.

He had thought he was done for.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, he had awakened in this post-apocalyptic wasteland, his entire body aching and immobile.

Luckily, fate hadn’t completely abandoned him. A girl, disguised as a boy, had secretly dragged him back to a camp and hidden him away.

Mu Liang sighed helplessly. “Looks like I really am about to start a survival challenge.”

As a stowaway, if the camp’s people discovered him, he would have to flee immediately.

According to Mino, if a stowaway was caught, the consequences ranged from being beaten to death to being worked to death.

Neither outcome was something Mu Liang wanted to experience.

Mino was the girl who had disguised herself as a boy and had saved him before sneaking him into her home.

Crack~~

A faint snapping sound echoed—the sound of a twig breaking.

Mu Liang snapped out of his thoughts, his vigilance kicking in. He pried open a gap in the wooden shack’s door and looked outside.

A thin, dirt-streaked figure was cautiously approaching the shack.

Mu Liang relaxed. The sneaky figure was none other than Mino.

Creak…

The rickety shack door was carefully pushed open.

The next second, the door was quickly shut behind her.

“Ah! What are you doing standing there in silence?!”

Mino, startled by Mu Liang’s sudden presence near the door, clutched her chest as her heart pounded wildly.

“How did it go?”

Mu Liang stepped back, sitting down by the entrance.

“Mu Liang, you’re amazing! The trap you taught me worked perfectly!”

Mino’s excitement was palpable as she eagerly chattered away.

“I caught way more lizards today than I ever have before!”

“How many?” Mu Liang asked with a chuckle.

After five days together, he had chosen not to expose Mino’s disguise.

“Hehe, you’re going to be shocked!”

Mino grinned mischievously and pulled out a small brown lizard, about the size of two fingers, from the cloth bag slung across her body.

One after another, she took out seven more flat-bodied lizards, lining them up neatly in front of Mu Liang.

“How many stone-press traps did you set up today?” Mu Liang glanced at the wounds on her fingers.

“Not enough time—I only managed to set up twenty-two.”

Mino pouted in dissatisfaction. “Tomorrow, I’ll definitely set up over thirty!”

“Don’t overdo it. Be careful not to attract attention,” Mu Liang reminded her calmly.

“Oh…” Mino suddenly realized the risk.

She then bit her lip anxiously. “But if I don’t set up more traps, there are only three days left before the tax is due. What about your share?”

“How much am I short?” Mu Liang frowned slightly.

Over the past five days, he had learned the camp’s rules—residents had to pay taxes in food to stay.

“Including today’s catch, you’re still short about thirty lizards.”

Mino hung her head in disappointment.

In these five days, their relationship had evolved from initial wariness to a transactional agreement—Mu Liang had traded his survival gear for a safe place to stay.

Just last night, he had taught her how to set up stone-press traps. Since then, Mino had begun to develop a sense of reliance on him.

For the first time in a long while, she felt the warmth of being cared for.

“Did you collect enough for your own tax?” Mu Liang asked nonchalantly.

Paying the tax wasn’t a big deal for him. Once he was fully recovered, he wouldn’t be catching just small lizards.

Mino’s enthusiasm dimmed as she muttered, “I already submitted thirty-five lizards. I just need five more.”

“Don’t worry. If I don’t have enough, I’ll just leave,” Mu Liang reassured her.

“Huh? You’re leaving?”

Mino’s head shot up, her eyes wide with surprise. She didn’t know how to make him stay.

“Yeah, I’ve almost fully recovered.” Mu Liang clenched his fist.

“But there are still three days! I can definitely gather enough for your tax!” Mino blurted out in panic.

Before Mu Liang could respond, she quickly rummaged through a pile of stones in the corner of the shack and pulled out a wooden box.

“I still have some dried lizard meat saved up. It should be enough!”

Mino opened the box and took out eight strips of dried lizard meat.

“Keep it. That’s your food supply,” Mu Liang said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he felt a twinge of emotion.

He reminded her in a serious tone, “Don’t forget—I’m an adult. My tax is different from yours.”

“I…” Mino’s body trembled, her voice shaky with reluctance. “There must be another way…”

Of course, she hadn’t forgotten that adults owed more tax. She just didn’t want Mu Liang to leave.

She had secretly planned to set up more traps and gather the fifty lizards needed to cover his share.

“Do you remember what you said to me on the first day we met?”

Mu Liang gazed at her calmly.

On the day Mino found him, she had assumed he was dead and had tried to scavenge his belongings.

But when Mu Liang suddenly spoke, she had been so startled she nearly jumped out of her skin.

In the end, she was too inexperienced and had been easily convinced to strike a deal—his military knife and canteen in exchange for her help.

That day, Mino had said: This is just a trade. Once you’re healed, you leave.

“I…” Mino’s face flushed with embarrassment. She wanted to argue but didn’t know how.

Silently, she turned away and pulled out a camouflage backpack from under the wooden bed.

With trembling hands, she set it down in front of Mu Liang.

“I didn’t take anything. Everything is inside.”

Mino bit her lip, her eyes filled with pleading. “I’m giving it all back to you. Will you stay?”

“Why do you want me to stay so badly?”

Before he could get an answer, Mino suddenly exclaimed, “Wait! I have something that might cover the tax!”

She scrambled under the bed and pulled out a small turtle.

“A turtle?” Mu Liang raised an eyebrow.

At that moment, a voice echoed in his mind:

Ding! Detected a tamable creature. Binding to the Beast Tamer System…