Chapter 54: Super Mold 18
On the highway, an incredibly flashy sports car sped by. You Che held the steering wheel with one hand, wearing sunglasses he’d picked up on the road, feeling like the coolest guy on the highway.
Chu Yian sat in the passenger seat, head down, organizing maps.
There was still one province between their current city and City X, with several cities in between. She used her phone’s navigation to chart three routes to City X. Without rest, and with continuous, alternating driving, the fastest route would take 2 days and 15 hours, and the slowest 3 days and 6 hours.
Having gone through the first two rounds of the game, she knew that the faster they arrived, the more points they were likely to get.
Naturally, she chose the fastest route.
You Che had been driving all afternoon, and they had already passed three cities. There were very few other drivers on the road, and occasionally someone would try to flag them down, but he would just step on the gas and drive past.
The journey went smoothly, a smoothness that continued until 48 hours later—
You Che’s vehicle manufacturer ability updated, and they acquired a brand-new Tractor.
Chu Yian wasn’t quite sure.
She walked around the Tractor several times, back and forth, before finally having to admit that it really was a Tractor!
“Uh, well… it’s like opening a blind box, right? If there are good things, there are bound to be bad things.”
You Che made an excuse for the Tractor he had conjured.
A Tractor was still a vehicle, and as long as it could drive, that was all that mattered.
Chu Yian only showed a moment of disdain before getting in. Relying on self-taught skills, she tried to drive wildly on this highway with a 120km/h speed limit… but she couldn’t.
The vehicle was very loud, but its speed was very slow.
Forget about the extreme push-back feeling of an Aston Martin; its speed could, at most, only keep pace with a two-wheeled electric scooter.
Moreover, moreover, moreover… the sound of the tractor was like background music. Chu Yian, with one hand on the steering wheel, looked at You Che, “At this speed, forget about reaching City X today.”
“…Slow down is good. Life should still slow down.”
You Che replied awkwardly.
Chu Yian tilted her head and looked at him, offering sincere advice, “If life should slow down, why don’t you get out and walk?”
How could she say such heartless words with such an innocent face?
You Che chuckled, “Big Chu, don’t be so serious. I was just kidding.”
If he had enough ability, he would be willing to carry the Tractor and run to the survival zone. After all, he was someone who had not passed the first two rounds of the game, his points were 0, and it looked like his chances of passing this round were the greatest.
Who wouldn’t want to live?
However, misfortunes never came singly. They hadn’t driven far when black smoke started billowing from the front of the Tractor. The thick smoke billowed, blackening Chu Yian’s face.
The two had no choice but to get out of the vehicle, open the front hood of the Tractor, and check what was happening inside.
However… “Can you fix a tractor?” Chu Yian asked, holding a screwdriver and looking at You Che.
You Che, holding the engine cover, looked innocently at Chu Yian, “I thought you could.”
It was over.
Forget about arriving today; they might not even arrive the day after tomorrow.
On the thirteenth day of the game, they walked for three hours on the rainy highway before finally reaching the city.
Both of them were soaked, and the wind made them shiver. Their hair clung to their faces in strands, their lips were pale, and they now looked exactly like refugees.
As soon as they entered the city, people began to secretly scrutinize them.
These people hid in tall buildings, concealed themselves in shops, and even ambushed them in vehicles parked by the roadside. The moment they entered, these people had already sized them up countless times.
They looked disheveled, with no backpacks.
They must be two skinny sheep with not a single biscuit on them.
Such people were not worth robbing. Food was becoming scarcer, and people were already forced to eat moldy food. Those who were lucky enough to be alive moved as little as possible. Robbing such people wouldn’t yield enough food to compensate for the energy expended.
Chu Yian had previously attracted disaster by showing off her wealth, but now she escaped danger due to her disheveled appearance. The shops along the road were all open, but inside, they were in a mess, with goods scattered everywhere.
They found a clothing store, where clothes were strewn on the floor and the cash register was smashed to pieces. The two found some clean, suitable clothes from the piles and changed, then dried their wet hair.
It was cold.
It had truly made them freeze earlier.
Chu Yian vigorously jumped up and down a couple of times before her body finally warmed up.
“Big Chu, what do we do now?”
You Che, who had also recovered, asked.
“First, find a safe place to rest, then at night, we’ll come out and look for a drivable vehicle.”
The two walked a small circuit around the city and then settled on a small office building.
They only needed a short rest, so an uninhabited building was the best choice. The food shortage had been going on for so long that office buildings were definitely the least likely places for people to choose among all types of buildings.
The two together searched the entire office building. Aside from two corpses, there was indeed nothing. Then, they cleared out an empty space and started a fire on the ground using office paper as fuel.
Chu Yian took out her treasure box and pulled out a tin box of compressed biscuits and two packs of instant noodles.
She handed these to You Che, “You cook here; I need to use the restroom.”
With that, she got up and walked to the restroom, closing the door with a bang.
Was she really going to the restroom?
Of course not; it was the treasure box’s creation skill taking effect!
You Che had been by her side all day, so she hadn’t been able to slip away to draw a prize. Now that she finally had the chance, Chu Yian took out the treasure box. Before opening it, she prayed devoutly, then reached her hand inside.
“An apple, sweet and sour.”
“Note: Will be recovered after this round of the game.”
“Item’s inner thoughts: I almost forgot they’re about to run out of even compressed biscuits. I doubt even the apple seeds will be recovered.”
Chu Yian looked at the content of the Item’s inner thoughts and inexplicably felt that this evaluation was becoming increasingly insulting to her personality.
Could someone with a sound personality, self-respect, and self-love like her be insulted by an item like this?
Hmph! Yes, she could.
After all, as long as the treasure box was willing to give her something useful, she could shamelessly call it grandpa.
Moreover, since the beginning of the game, she had not hoarded any fruit.
When was the last time she ate fruit? Perhaps the second day the game started.
Things that were once readily available suddenly disappeared, and the small amount that remained became extremely precious. And in just one day, an apple would be covered in mold.
Chu Yian brought the apple out with her when she emerged.
The moment You Che saw the apple, he was so excited he almost jumped. He stared at the apple, unable to stop himself from swallowing, “Big Chu, where did you get this? This is too amazing!”
