Chapter 2: Instance – Virus Town
Su Ning felt a blur in front of her eyes, and then found herself in an entirely unfamiliar environment.
The surroundings were eerily silent, so quiet it made her skin crawl.
Su Ning’s nerves immediately tensed—she was very aware that she was currently inside the so-called survival game.
An electronic blue screen appeared before her.
[Instance: Virus Town]
[Survive: One Day!]
“Virus Town? So this is the instance I have to face?”
According to the game rules, she must survive here for a whole day!
However, now was not the time to dwell on questions.
The moment Su Ning stepped into the instance, a refreshing chill swept over her entire body.
Having just come from a high-heat environment, it felt like she had stepped straight into paradise.
She slowly looked around and found that although the sky was hazy, sunlight still shone through.
The place she stood in seemed to be a dilapidated and crumbling town.
“The instance is called Virus Town, which means I need to be wary of some unknown virus.” Su Ning immediately decided to take action.
Although this survival game was designed to help Earth inhabitants survive hardship, that didn’t mean it was completely safe.
Especially since this instance looked like it had experienced an apocalypse.
Su Ning’s guard went up.
She quickly entered a house with an unlocked door and started searching for useful supplies—
And took the chance to test her innate talent.
As soon as she entered, she was greeted by a horrific sight.
Darkened traces of blood were everywhere—it was clear this town was far from safe.
“Looks like this so-called virus isn’t something mild like the flu.”
Feeling the danger, Su Ning carefully searched the house.
Without hesitation, she headed straight to the kitchen.
She turned on the tap, but was disappointed when no water came out.
“I was too eager… If this is an apocalyptic instance, then of course water would be a vital survival resource.”
She opened the fridge. It was empty—no, not completely. A foul stench almost made her gag.
She quickly slammed it shut.
“Clearly, food won’t be easy to find either.”
In the kitchen, Su Ning found a slender kitchen knife.
She stared at it, her eyes glinting oddly.
Focusing her mind, she silently activated her unique talent: [Scavenger].
The next moment, something surprising happened.
A detailed description of the knife appeared before her!
[Kitchen Knife]: This appears to be an ordinary kitchen knife, but it has multiple uses. Besides preparing food, it can be a crucial weapon for self-defense.
Through her “Scavenger’s Eye,” this information was incredibly valuable.
It allowed her to quickly understand the properties and uses of every item—making her better prepared for various situations.
Of course, that was only one part of her scavenger abilities.
Su Ning had already familiarized herself with the Scavenger’s Eye. The other ability was called Scavenger Backpack.
Just from the name, it seemed to be related to storage space.
She couldn’t help but imagine the possibilities.
If she truly possessed such a magical backpack, exploring and adventuring would become much more efficient and convenient.
She could gather all kinds of useful items without worrying about how to carry them.
The thought made her excited with anticipation.
Eager to test it, she focused—and in an instant, the kitchen knife in her hand disappeared.
Then, within her mental space, a 50-slot inventory appeared.
The kitchen knife was now neatly stored in one of the slots.
“I’m not sure if this Scavenger Backpack has a weight limit…”
A single knife wasn’t much, but the backpack gave Su Ning a significant boost in confidence.
“With this space, I can store tons of supplies. Even back in the real world, I won’t have to worry about others stealing my hidden items.”
After testing her ability, she continued her search.
Now equipped with the Scavenger’s Backpack, she needed to make the most of her talent.
“There’s still that unknown virus in this instance. I need to search for masks or something similar.”
Just because she had to survive one day didn’t mean it would be a safe day.
And Su Ning didn’t believe she was the only one in this instance.
Especially after seeing the dried, blackened bloodstains—her concern only grew.
She had to be extremely cautious.
Despite the virus threat, the instance still had plenty for her to discover.
Before long, Su Ning found something useful.
“A home-use medical kit!”
Her eyes lit up.
Opening it revealed many useful items, including the mask she was looking for.
Inside were four gauze pads, a thermometer, band-aids, alcohol disinfectant, more gauze, and rubber gloves.
There were also medicines like cold pills and anti-inflammatories—all essential.
In the real world, after the apocalypse began, nearly all supplies were centrally controlled and distributed by the government.
Besides the medical kit, she also found a leftover water bottle.
It was an unbranded bottle of drinking water.
She activated her Scavenger’s Eye.
[Generic Mineral Water]: Near expiration. Safe to drink. Won’t kill you!
Seeing that the identification gave the all-clear, Su Ning immediately opened the bottle and took a drink.
“Ahhh—!”
For the first time in three months, she felt so refreshed drinking water.
Of course, she knew how precious water was. She didn’t drink it all in one go. She saved half the bottle.
She stored the half-full bottle and the medical kit in her Scavenger Backpack.
Su Ning thought to herself, “Thanks to this game, people on Earth finally have a chance to breathe again.”
She continued exploring other rooms, searching for anything useful.
Food was nearly impossible to find. Anything that remained had long since rotted.
“Huh?”
While searching the living room, she saw something like a newspaper on the coffee table.
She didn’t recognize the characters, but maybe due to the system’s influence, she could understand the meaning perfectly.
The paper was reporting the origin of the instance’s virus!
Unknown virus appears—transmission method unknown?
The report speculated it could be spread via airborne droplets.
Infected individuals first showed fatigue and aversion to sunlight, then worsened rapidly—
They became irritable and destructive.
Eventually, their bodies mutated, their strength increased, their skin turned deathly pale, they lost all body hair—and all reason. They became completely bloodthirsty.
Su Ning also saw a photo of an infected person.
The image was horrifying.
But the report also stated that the infected were extremely afraid of sunlight—more precisely, UV light.
During the day, they almost never appeared in areas exposed to sunlight. The night was their hunting ground.
Su Ning was startled. She quickly looked outside.
The sun was still shining. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“So that’s why this town is so quiet—those infected move at night.”
But she also wondered—where did they hide during the day to avoid UV rays?
Any place untouched by sunlight…
Which meant, even the houses she was searching weren’t completely safe.
“I have to be even more cautious—absolutely must not let any infected sense my presence.”
After all, she was just a weak girl. Even though she had awakened a talent, it wasn’t a combat ability.
Right now, she was completely defenseless.
Precisely because of that, she needed to clearly understand her reality.
Since the system gave her the Scavenger talent, she had to stay low-profile and focus on stockpiling supplies.
