Chapter 24: Hard Mode Is On
Lin Huai had assumed that because ash bricks served a similar function to Yin energy crystals, they would sell slowly. That was why she had listed only a small test batch.
She never expected the “top-tier expert” effect to carry so much weight. The hundred ash bricks were gone almost instantly.
Looking at the 3,000 underworld coins already sitting in her account, Lin Huai froze in disbelief.
She slapped her forehead with a groan. “I was being so foolish!”
Yin energy crystals were tied to mid-level talismans. In her previous life, by the time she learned about ash bricks, mid-tier workbenches were already widespread, which was why ash bricks had lost their market value. Right now, however, ordinary players had no access to Yin crystals at all. How could ash bricks not sell like wildfire?
Luckily, Lin Huai had added Sister Hanba as a friend.
She sent a quick private message, and the crematorium manager readily supplied her with another ten thousand ash bricks.
[Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice]: Don’t worry, everyone will get some.
After dropping that message in the public chat, she listed the fresh batch of ten thousand bricks.
This massive stock sold at a steadier pace, yet five thousand units were snapped up almost instantly.
Lin Huai’s eyes sparkled as another 150,000 underworld coins flooded into her balance. In her entire previous life, she had never seen so much wealth in one place!
Looking at the member counter in the chat lobby—showing 6,328 players remaining—Lin Huai felt, for the very first time, that the server population was actually a bit too small. If there were more survivors, she could make even more money.
Lin Huai earmarked 100,000 coins to buy a thousand Yin energy crystals from Sister Hanba.
However, Sister Hanba turned down the bulk purchase. Her private safe held only a hundred crystals; the rest had already been turned over to headquarters, leaving her without that much stock.
Lin Huai had no choice but to purchase those hundred first.
She had agreed with Sister Hanba to settle the ash brick balance using Yin energy crystals. Thirty thousand underworld coins was equivalent to 375 Yin crystals. Because the manager did not have enough in reserve, Lin Huai paid her thirty crystals first and kept seventy for herself.
Even so, Sister Hanba was overjoyed. Turning useless waste into pure profit felt like winning the lottery.
Flush with this massive fortune and finally free from poverty, Lin Huai suddenly felt as if driving along the highway were a pleasant vacation. Even the monsters lurking by the roadside seemed strangely agreeable, their twisted features almost charming.
After upgrading her vehicle to level four, Lin Huai had been so consumed by her “kill and cremate” routine that she hadn’t checked its updated stats. Remembering it now, she opened the vehicle interface at once:
Vehicle Name: Offensive & Defensive Integrated Armored Vehicle (Level 4)
Max Speed: 260 km/h
Color: Dazzling Cinnabar Red
Interior Space: 20 square meters
Attack Value: 55
Defense Value: 65
Immunity Value: 40
Shield Range: 10 meters
Status: Fully Intact
Power Source: Dual Hybrid (Electric / Yin Energy)
Navigation: Yellow Springs Road Guide (Basic)
Mounted Weapons: Firepower Interception Net, Golden Light Cannon
Bound Companion Item: Green Jade Evil-Suppressing Coffin
The Green Jade Evil-Suppressing Coffin had its own sub-menu. Lin Huai tapped it without hesitation.
Item Name: Green Jade Evil-Suppressing Coffin
Follow Mode: Floats 1–3 meters above the vehicle (height adjustable)
Internal Temperature: Constant 26°C
Storage Space: 50 square meters
Recovery Rate: Restores 10 stamina and 5 spiritual power per hour
Evil Suppression & Dispersion: Passively drives away low-level monsters within a 10-meter radius.
Yin Energy Conversion: Passively gathers Yin energy. After 12 hours of absorption, the user can activate Yin Conversion to become invisible to monsters for 2 hours.
Purification & Deliverance: Automatically purifies the lingering malice and grudges of corpses and monsters, converting them into pure Yin energy and speeding up accumulation.
The level-four coffin had not shifted drastically from level three. Alongside higher efficiency across its existing traits, it gained one crucial new feature: the ability to passively suppress and scatter evil spirits.
Lin Huai looked up at the soft green glow blanketing the entire armored vehicle, her heart swelling with complicated emotions.
Once the Newbie Protection Period ended, this green jade coffin would serve as her personal protective shield.
Thinking about her past life, she couldn’t understand her former self at all. Every time those memories surfaced, she wanted to reach through time and slap herself across the face.
Had she been cursed by that scoundrel, or had a ghost scrambled her brain? How could she ever have handed Old Lin’s coffin over to someone else?
To let a worthless coward steal such an incredible treasure—what on earth had she been thinking?
After silently scolding her naive past self, Lin Huai felt her resolve harden. Her determination to survive until the very end and destroy both Chen Feng and Su Wan burned brighter than ever.
This time, she would protect Old Lin’s coffin with her life, and she would find Old Lin.
Three days slipped by in the blink of an eye. The final hours of the Newbie Protection Period had arrived.
Midnight was drawing near.
Lin Huai watched the digital countdown on her screen with tense focus.
She recalled that in her previous life, the first major disaster following the protection period had been a violent thunderstorm. She had prepared well ahead of time, welding metal rods together to craft a sturdy lightning rod atop her vehicle. During those storms, though the lightning was less fatal than in the legendary Realm of Thunder, careless players were still struck dead from time to time.
Yet just before the clock struck twelve, Old Hei’s mocking electronic voice cut through the silence.
His tone carried none of his usual irritation tonight. Instead, it sounded sharp and excited, dripping with sinister delight like a demon’s whisper.
“Welcome, little rookies, to the real highway survival game! Hard mode is officially online!”
“Keep your eyes wide open. The weather is about to shift, and the road won’t stay the same, either!”
As Old Hei’s final words faded, midnight arrived without a sound.
Lin Huai was certain not a single soul across the server had dared to go to sleep early tonight. Even so, the chat lobby remained dead quiet; not a single message crossed the screen. Everyone was staring anxiously at the dark road ahead.
Lin Huai felt just as tense. Even with a lifetime of memories, her knuckles turned white against the steering wheel.
She watched the road unfold. The thick black fog slowly drifted apart, but the straight pavement was gone. In its place stretched a winding, treacherous mountain pass. In the distance, sharp turns bent at harsh angles of less than thirty degrees, leading into one hairpin curve after another.
One missed tap on the brakes would send a vehicle hurtling into the bottomless black river below.
Above, the clear, starry sky had completely vanished, swallowed by heavy, rolling storm clouds. The night grew darker by the second.
Yet the expected roll of thunder never came.
As Lin Huai wondered what was happening, a soft tapping began against the vehicle’s roof.
A thick drizzle began to pelt the metal frame.
Lin Huai peered through the windshield. Where the droplets struck the hood, wisps of faint vapor immediately hissed into the air.
Her brow furrowed.
Clicking on her flashlight, she inspected the spray closely. The rising mist carried a pale green hue; the rain falling from the sky was not clear water, but a sickly, pale green liquid.
Wherever the drops splashed onto the car, the glossy finish dulled visibly, stripping the brilliant cinnabar red of its shine.
A sharp alarm sounded in Lin Huai’s mind!
Acid rain!
The disaster pattern had changed. This time, the first trial after the Newbie Protection Period was not a thunderstorm at all—it was corrosive acid rain!
Right on cue, the cool, robotic female voice of the Road Guide chimed through the cabin:
[Weather anomaly detected ahead. Current natural disaster: Acid Rain. Terrain: Hilly. Approaching a continuous winding road section with complex conditions. No forks detected for now. Road ahead is open. Drivers, please exercise extreme caution and watch for sharp turns.]
