Chapter 11: Work, Ambush
The next day, Su Ning, dressed in the uniform of Shelter No. 6, began her first day at work under the envious gazes of others.
Upon arriving at her workstation—where unknown food items obtained from game instances were to be examined—the temperature was noticeably low.
Compared to the high heat outside, her work environment was quite comfortable.
No sooner had Su Ning sat down than a series of unknown food items were placed in front of her.
There was clearly an increase in the number of food items today, indicating that the shelter had collected a considerable amount of materials.
After returning from survival instances, players usually gained something, though most would keep the loot for themselves.
Just as she activated her Scavenger’s Eye to begin identifying the food, a voice of doubt suddenly came from beside her.
“So you’re the new girl, Su Ning? The one with the ability to tell if food is poisonous?”
Su Ning turned around to see another female employee dressed in the same Shelter No. 6 uniform.
The woman looked quite young and well-kept, not like someone who had suffered hardship.
The woman, Jiang Nana, began sizing Su Ning up.
She suddenly said to Su Ning, unprovoked, “I hope you inspect the food properly. If you mess up at work, don’t expect to keep this rare position.”
With a cold snort, she walked off without giving Su Ning a chance to respond.
Su Ning could clearly sense this person’s hostility, which confused her.
We don’t even know each other—why such strong hostility?
Truth was, Jiang Nana was extremely hostile toward Su Ning.
She currently worked in the shelter sorting various supply boxes—in essence, a post-apocalyptic warehouse clerk.
Unlike Su Ning’s job, which only required her to use her gift in a designated area and label food as toxic or safe—hardly any physical effort was needed.
Jiang Nana was obviously jealous of Su Ning’s cushy role.
But what she didn’t know was that even a supply clerk position like hers wasn’t easily obtainable in the outside world. Jobs inside shelters were rare; even this one wasn’t just handed to anyone.
If not for her background, she wouldn’t have gotten it either.
Jiang Nana had long coveted the food inspection role. Before the survival game descended, she had already asked her father to pull strings for her.
Had the game not happened, the position would’ve been hers without question.
But the arrival of the game threw everything into chaos—and Su Ning ended up snagging the job instead.
Of course, Su Ning had no idea about any of this—and wouldn’t care even if she did.
As she worked, her thoughts turned to how she could collect more resources and improve her strength for future survival games.
Right now, her only means of self-defense was the “Perfect Accuracy” skill she obtained from a loot chest. But she had no weapon—without one, the skill’s power was severely limited.
“If only I had a reliable weapon,” Su Ning sighed.
If she had a gun, with her skill’s support, she’d be much more capable of defending herself in a crisis.
“Guns are great, but hard to get. A bow might be a better option—easier to acquire.”
Su Ning made a mental note to look for opportunities to trade for a bow from other people.
And so, she continued quietly inspecting food.
All the while, Jiang Nana was visibly in a bad mood as she moved supplies back and forth.
Su Ning paid her no attention and focused on completing her task.
Naturally, she also made subtle use of her Scavenger’s Eye and Scavenger’s Backpack to collect bits and scraps of food—items most wouldn’t notice were missing.
She had no desire to leave this job.
Never thought I’d get to a point where I didn’t want to leave my workstation.
The temperature here was far more comfortable than her home. She was even tempted to live here permanently.
Before leaving, Su Ning took a look at the shelter’s construction progress.
Thanks to the area’s mineral-rich geography, the place had taken decent shape within a year.
But because of frequent natural disasters, construction was still being reinforced.
“When will we finally be able to move into the shelter?”
It wasn’t just Su Ning who wondered—everyone was eagerly waiting for the opportunity.
On her way home, something unexpected happened.
She was blocked by two people on the road.
Su Ning had encountered robbers.
Since the apocalypse, incidents like these had become common. People would do anything to survive.
The two men looked rough, sickly even—but that was how most people looked now.
“Hey, bitch! If you wanna live, hand over all your food!”
One of them threatened her with a knife.
Su Ning looked at them blankly.
“Do I look like someone carrying food?”
Even if she had food, she wouldn’t be stupid enough to hold it out in the open. What was her Scavenger’s Backpack for?
The two men hesitated.
Then the skinnier one began to leer at her.
“Bro, don’t you think this chick’s worth more than some food?”
“Heh, good point.”
Su Ning’s eyes flashed with disgust as she overheard their conversation.
She scanned the surroundings—no one in sight.
The two men assumed she was afraid and began laughing.
“Hahaha! No one’s coming to save you, sweetheart!”
One of them reached out to grab her.
Relieved there was no one nearby, Su Ning calmly pulled out a handful of stones she had collected from an earlier game instance and hurled them with Scavenger’s Backpack.
The falling stones turned into a deadly shower, flying at the two men like a swarm of arrows.
Their eyes widened.
“A space-type ability?!”
Before they could react further, Su Ning’s Perfect Accuracy skill ensured that every stone hit its mark—striking their heads in quick succession.
Blood sprayed.
Both men collapsed, dead.
Su Ning glanced at the bodies.
After confirming no one was watching, she quickly stored them in her Scavenger’s Backpack.
There was no better place to hide bodies.
She assigned one slot as a temporary corpse-holding space—planning to dispose of them after entering another game instance.
Though this was her first time killing someone, it wasn’t her first time facing death.
In this brutal world, she’d already witnessed too much parting and loss.
So, despite the fear and tension in her heart, her expression remained calm and composed.
On the outside, it looked like nothing had happened.
Her heart pounded, but her face betrayed nothing.
When Su Ning arrived at her apartment building, she saw a crowd blocking the stairwell.
Upon spotting her, someone shouted, “Su Ning’s back!”
(End of Chapter)
