Chapter 4: Highway Safety Ambassador
Lin Huai stared at the yellow talisman box, but she didn’t open it right away. Even during the Newbie Protection Period, monsters could still jump out of these boxes.
Whether it was a broken wooden box or a yellow talisman box, there was always a chance of encountering a type of ghost or monster known as a “Safety Ambassador.” They usually appeared in various gruesome states of death.
Lin Huai took a copper coin from her beginner gift pack and held it tightly between her index and middle fingers. After bracing herself, she stepped forward and cautiously reached out to open the box, acting as carefully as someone lighting a firecracker.
The moment her fingertips brushed the talisman paper, a freezing gust of yin wind suddenly swept past. The talisman curled and dropped off as if it were alive, crumbling into ash before the box lid sprang wide open!
“Giggle, giggle, giggle…”
Accompanied by the sickening sound of grinding bones, an enormous, flattened head popped out of the box. A single blood-red eyeball bulged from its bruised, purplish-blue skin, while the other eye socket was nothing but a pitch-black, empty hole. The entire head looked as if it had been crushed by a heavy vehicle. It was completely flattened, and pale brain matter oozed continuously from the top. To make matters worse, a clear tire track was stamped right across the monster’s smashed face.
The light screen immediately popped up with the scanned information:
[Safety Ambassador: Monsters who died violent deaths on the highway for various reasons. They come in many different appearances. The game officials remind you: reckless driving will turn you into an ugly monster!]
Lin Huai was speechless. Once again, she felt that whoever named these monsters was an absolute genius.
The moment the flat-headed monster emerged, it reached out and lunged at Lin Huai. Its dark green, razor-sharp claws barely missed her face. Lin Huai’s eyes narrowed. She quickly did a backflip to dodge the attack, then immediately spun around and flicked the copper coin from her fingers. The coin shot through the air and embedded itself deeply into the monster’s massive head.
Thick white brain matter and dark blood splattered everywhere. Even though Lin Huai had jumped two meters back, a few drops still landed on her. Feeling a wave of disgust, she walked to the edge of the road, grabbed a handful of dirt, and scrubbed the mess off her clothes.
Only after she was clean did she step forward to collect the box.
Finding an altar was like a gamble. If you won, a single box could change your entire fate. If you lost, you would lose everything you had offered.
Fortunately, Lin Huai had experience. Knowing the right “formulas” to solve these problems made changing her luck incredibly simple.
In her previous life, she had encountered four different Gods of the Altar, and this boy was one of them. Each god had their own unique tastes. You only received a good reward if you offered the right tribute. Giving them the wrong item would cut your reward in half.
But even a halved reward was a good outcome. If a player accidentally offered something the god hated or considered taboo, the god would kill them on the spot!
Lin Huai wasn’t entirely sure about all the preferences of this angry boy holding a human heart. She only remembered one crucial detail: he absolutely hated three-color cake.
As long as she didn’t give him that, anything else should be fine.
It turned out her guess was right, and the supplies inside the yellow talisman box were very generous.
Just as she was counting her new items, the light screen suddenly forced its way in front of her. At the same time, Old Hei’s robotic voice echoed in the ears of every player on the server.
[Server-wide announcement: Player ‘Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice’ from District 44, Zone 444, has achieved the first kill of a Safety Ambassador! Reward: one yellow talisman supply box.]
Old Hei added his own mocking comment, [The first kill has already been snatched up! You newbies are still peeing your pants in fear. Can any of you even do this? If not, do yourselves a favor and go drown in the river.]
Lin Huai froze for a second. By starting over, she had actually managed to grab the very first kill!
As soon as the announcement ended, a second yellow talisman box appeared and dropped right at her feet.
Having two yellow talisman boxes gave her a massive advantage, though she wasn’t sure how long this lead would last. Danger and opportunity went hand-in-hand on this highway. At any moment, another player could change their fate with a single lucky box. It was still much too early to relax.
Lin Huai immediately opened her new yellow talisman box. Luckily, not every box held a monster, and her good luck held strong.
She eagerly counted all the supplies she had gathered so far:
Mineral water (250ml) x8, AD calcium milk x4, French soft bread x3, leather jacket x1, instant noodles x3, canned food x2, compressed biscuits x2, self-heating hotpot x4, garlic x2, tea x3, Eight Treasure Porridge x2, konjac jelly x2, pickled chili chicken feet (small pack) x3, apples x3, whole roasted chicken x1, thermos cup x1, workwear set x1, thermal underwear set x1, dagger x1, batteries x7, gasoline x6, cinnabar x14, copper coins x14, peach wood x5, black dog blood (200ml) x3, glutinous rice x3, beef heart x2, pig lung x3, pig liver x1, three-color cake x7, bandages x2, evil-dispelling alcohol spray x1, Three Pure Ones bell x1, upgrade card x1, altar token x1.
Lin Huai let out a soft sigh of relief. While it wasn’t a mountain of basic supplies, it was enough food and water to last her for several days. This was already a hundred times better than her past life!
Most importantly, she had found an upgrade card within the first hour of the game!
She finally wouldn’t have to walk anymore. This was a massive improvement!
Without any hesitation, Lin Huai took out the upgrade card.
[Upgrade Card: A universal card. This is an essential material for all upgradeable items.]
The system screen showed that the only item she could currently upgrade was her vehicle.
After she selected the upgrade option, the golden card floated into the air and hovered over her small pushcart. With a blinding flash of golden light, the cart transformed. Sitting in front of her was now an electric tricycle, equipped with a cargo bed just long enough to hold the coffin perfectly.
This was the exact same upgrade path she had experienced in her previous life.
But what shocked Lin Huai was that the coffin had been upgraded alongside the vehicle!
Originally, it had been a plain willow wood coffin. The wood wasn’t expensive; it had merely been painted a deep red.
But now, sitting in the cargo bed was a coffin made of precious golden nanmu wood—the exact same high-level coffin that had accompanied her for so long in her past life!
Back then, the coffin had been treated as a separate special item. She had spent a very long time struggling to upgrade it from level two to level three.
Now, the entire box had instantly transformed into golden nanmu wood. Simple, elegant patterns were carved into its surface, and it gave off a faint, glowing aura that looked like shimmering dust. Within the rich, reddish grain of the wood, delicate golden threads caught the sunlight, radiating a brilliant, beautiful light.
Lin Huai gently rested her hand on the lid of the coffin, her eyes naturally growing red with emotion.
Old Lin had spent his entire life building coffins for other people, yet he had always been too frugal to use good wood for his own “final home.”
But now, this cruel survival game had actually upgraded his resting place into something luxurious.
More than once, Lin Huai couldn’t help but wonder: if she finally reached the end of the road and upgraded this coffin to its highest level… could she possibly bring Old Lin back to life?
