Chapter 78: Other Players, Time is Money
Su Ning stared at the food in her hand for a moment, then, without hesitation, stuffed it into her mouth.
After chewing a few times, she realized—just as described in the information she’d seen—that the energy bar had absolutely no flavor.
Strangely though, after eating it, a strong sense of fullness set in.
“This thing may be tasteless, but in the current situation of food scarcity, it’s definitely precious.”
Su Ning thought to herself: if she could bring these energy bars back to the real world, she was sure they would be enthusiastically welcomed by the residents of Shelter No. 6.
After all, compared to those nauseating insect patties, these energy bars would clearly be much more acceptable.
“Although this dungeon is full of danger, there really are quite a few good things here.”
As she sighed, Su Ning recalled the special-effect ores she had previously discovered, along with all kinds of unknown technologies—hibernation pods, annihilation guns—and now this [Energy Bar].
Each one had the potential to cause a sensation in the real world.
The effects of the blue stone ore could definitely be used to build strong shelters, and these [Energy Bars] could solve the problem of food shortages.
However, no one would want to enter this dungeon a second time.
After eating, Su Ning finally had some free time to explore the surroundings.
The area Su Ning was in wasn’t just a mining site—there was also a massive corporation under the colonial company, and all the extracted minerals were transported into a large, expansive warehouse facility.
However, Su Ning couldn’t get close to those warehouses. She noticed that even the guards nearby were all powerful cyborgs.
What shocked her even more was that they were all armed with the terrifying annihilation guns.
Just as Su Ning was observing all of this, she suddenly saw a familiar figure ahead—Andy!
Not only that, but Su Ning also noticed several others near Andy. Upon closer inspection, they were all players like her.
Su Ning couldn’t help but marvel:
“So Andy had a hidden agenda getting close to me. And now she’s even gathered other players. That intuition of hers is really something. Even without the Scavenger’s Eye, she’s managed to find players with decent abilities.”
Information about the players appeared before Su Ning’s eyes:
[Player: Zhang Tao]
Talent: Whisper – Can whisper to anyone regardless of distance, and no one else can perceive it.
Skills: Flying Kick, Martial Arts
[Player: Li Quan]
Talent: Fluffy Soft – Can make any hard object become soft and pliable.
Skill: Judo
[Player: Wang Chao]
Talent: Lava Tomato – Can turn tomatoes into lava and vice versa.
Skill: Projectile Shot!
Item: Planting Space
[Player: Aizemark]
Talent: Touch Transformation – Can transform into the appearance of any target he touches.
Skill: Assassination
Seeing this data, Su Ning couldn’t help but feel a wave of surprise.
Each of their abilities was so unique and powerful.
She had already encountered Aizemark and had a deep impression of his hypocritical demeanor.
But the one who piqued Su Ning’s curiosity the most was Wang Chao.
His talent was not only magical but he even possessed a Planting Space.
“This guy has a storage space—it means he killed 100,000 zombies in the Corpse Hell dungeon.”
Su Ning knew well that such an achievement was anything but easy. His strength could not be underestimated.
Moreover, his ability allowed him to freely switch objects between tomato and lava states.
If Wang Chao lived in a volcanic region, his initial survival wouldn’t have been too difficult.
And Su Ning’s guess was entirely correct. It was precisely because of this talent that Wang Chao had miraculously survived near starvation.
He came from a remote mountainous region, where shelters were extremely rare.
When a dormant volcano suddenly erupted due to extreme temperature changes, it posed a massive threat to him.
But after acquiring this peculiar ability, Wang Chao’s strength rose dramatically. The lava, once deadly, became his ally.
He used this ability to go on a rampage in the Corpse Hell dungeon, ultimately earning the Planting Space item.
“The other two players’ abilities shouldn’t be underestimated either.”
“Whisper” and “Fluffy Soft” might sound useless at first, but the former could function like a wireless communication device, and the latter was a conceptual ability.
Turning hard objects soft—who could defend against that?
“What is Andy trying to do by gathering these people?”
Su Ning quickly realized, based on earlier observations, that the status of “new humans” here was extremely dangerous—and Andy herself was a new human.
Also, the miners here were being oppressed by the colonial company.
“Where there’s oppression, there’s resistance?”
Su Ning figured out part of Andy’s intentions—but could it really succeed?
The annihilation guns were terrifyingly powerful, and Su Ning couldn’t help but shiver at the thought. She also noticed many cyborgs hidden nearby, which caused her heart to sink.
Thanks to her Scavenger’s Eye, she could easily distinguish between cyborgs and humans—but others couldn’t.
If the presence of new humans was discovered by these cyborgs hidden among the crowd, the consequences would be dire.
She calmed herself and continued to pretend she was wandering aimlessly.
These cyborgs were likely sent by the colonial company, and their goal was probably to sniff out troublemakers.
Su Ning understood—resistance would not be easy.
Her plan was not to get involved in this conflict, but instead to quietly complete her own mission.
With her Scavenger’s Eye, she believed she could definitely find the energy crystal.
But things often didn’t go as planned.
Right now, Su Ning began silently searching for information on energy crystals.
Although the area was filled with miners, there was a small trading market.
Here, she could exchange information on various ores.
To her surprise, the currency used here was miners’ work time.
That’s right!
Just as Andy had said—time is money—and it wasn’t a metaphor.
Time had literally become currency.
Each document about an ore would cost Su Ning 8 hours of work time to purchase.
After buying the document, her ID card countdown increased by 8 hours.
(The countdown only decreases during work hours. Once outside the mine, it pauses.)
Because she spent time buying this ore document, all of Su Ning’s work for the day was essentially wasted.
A new day—hope everyone continues to support!
(End of Chapter)
