Chapter 4: Highway Survival 1
The next morning at 8:00 AM sharp, the system voice rang out on time.
[Welcome to the game instance—Highway Survival. Total players in this round: 2,000. NPCs: Unknown.]
[Game Clearance Condition: Survive for 15 days. Upon completion, the system will automatically teleport you out.]
[Note 1: In-game death or injury will translate to a certain degree of negative impact in reality. Players may apply to leave the instance at any time during this round, but you will not immediately enter the next round after leaving. Please choose carefully and strive to survive.]
[Note 2: Death in reality occurs only if a player’s heart is destroyed by another player’s attack.]
[Survival Days 1–5: Reward of 5 Gold Coins/day.] [Survival Days 6–10: Reward of 10 Gold Coins/day.] [Survival Days 11–15: Reward of 20 Gold Coins/day.] [Clearance: An additional bonus reward of 300 Gold Coins.]
Leaving the game prematurely would guarantee survival, which was highly beneficial for many who lacked capability. However, the gold coins earned would be pitifully meager, making it difficult to cover the food expenses before the next round of the game began.
Therefore, the best outcome was to strive to survive for at least ten days and gather as many supplies as possible within the instance. The worst outcome was taking a dozen or so gold coins and eating the cheapest food every day.
In a sense, this game had a save-state feature. What would truly cause a player’s actual death was having their heart attacked by one of their own—a fellow player. They had all come from a society ruled by law; surely no one would be so twisted as to treat this like a real murder game!
Having thought this through, Chu Yun found herself already deployed into the instance.
This was a highway that stretched as far as the eye could see, with only two narrow, opposing lanes. Boundless desert flanked both sides of the road. The desert was a vast expanse of yellow sand, broken only by small dunes and a few scattered, stunted brambles. A small sign stood in the midst of the sand, which read: Dangerous creatures inhabit this area. Do not linger.
Chu Yun cast a glance at it and withdrew her gaze. It was better to believe it than to risk it; she was in no mood to test the validity of the warning sign.
The scorching, blazing sun beat down from above, making one’s throat feel like it was about to catch fire. The asphalt highway absorbed heat aggressively. Chu Yun had stood there for only a short moment, yet the heat penetrating the soles of her shoes was already scalding her feet. She felt like she was inside a steamer basket, estimating the temperature to be well over 40°C.
Looking far into the distance, both ahead and behind, there wasn’t a single large tree. There was no suitable place to rest in the shade. If she stayed like this indefinitely, she would probably be baked into a piece of dried fish before she could even starve to death.
The first day of the game.
Chu Yun had no intention of sitting around waiting for death. Fully prepared, she picked a random direction and started walking forward.
Thanks to the survival skills she had honed during the apocalypse, her body was highly resilient. After continuously walking through the labyrinth for ten hours yesterday, she was still capable of trekking along the highway today.
She carried a backpack, which served as a cover, holding only her spiked mace, a bottle of water, and a few pieces of bread. All her other items were stored in her storage ring, leaving her unburdened and conserving a massive amount of physical strength.
Chu Yun couldn’t help but think of Xu Dongdong. When she first met him, he was wearing pajamas and flip-flops. With that hard-to-describe outfit combined with the blazing sun and the never-ending highway, it was truly difficult to imagine how he would manage to move.
Walking consumed a lot of energy. To prevent herself from dehydrating and losing strength, Chu Yun took a small sip of water from time to time, holding it in her mouth for a few seconds to fully moisten it before swallowing slowly.
This kept her mouth from drying out too quickly, thereby reducing her water intake. She had kept the two empty bottles obtained from the previous labyrinth instance in her storage ring, filling two smaller bottles from her large water jug and slotting them into the side of her backpack.
Chu Yun discovered that only certain supplies could freely enter and leave the game via the storage ring—such as items bought with gold coins, drops from killing game mobs, and resources gathered from resource points. Anything that belonged to the game’s built-in infrastructure could not be collected at all.
When she first entered, she had tried to put blankets, furniture, and other items into the storage ring, but she was rejected by the system on the grounds of “stealing public property of the game.”
!
Their legal and safety awareness education was remarkably comprehensive.
Two hours later, having found nothing, Chu Yun finally spotted a three-wheeled motorcycle parked by the side of the highway.
The three-wheeled motorcycle was entirely grass-green with a canopy roof. The front seat was wide enough for two people to sit side by side, and the back featured an empty cargo bed that could be used to store items.
The vehicle looked rather battered on the outside, but its functionality was completely intact. Chu Yun inspected it inside and out; no parts were missing.
The motorcycle’s tank was completely filled with gasoline, enough to cover 600 kilometers. Traveling by day, resting by night, and making stop-and-go progress to complete tasks along the way, she could frugally make it last for two days.
Chu Yun climbed inside. Although there was no air conditioning, having a shade canopy overhead instantly took a bit of the sweltering edge off her body.
In her past life, Chu Yun was a multi-talented operative, famously renowned as a top-tier jack-of-all-trades among the various guard squads. Not only could she fight zombies, but she was also highly proficient in gathering supplies, driving trucks, gambling, and various other skills. Her learning capacity was immense; as long as she put her mind to something, she could master it in no time.
Chu Yun rode the three-wheeled motorcycle, speeding down the highway. The wind whipped up by the moving vehicle brought a refreshing breeze, making her feel incredibly cool. If things remained like this, she reckoned she could easily coast until the game ended after fifteen days. But knowing the game’s twisted nature, it was impossible for things to remain this peaceful.
The first day ended quickly. She consumed two small 500ml bottles of mineral water, one mantou, and one pork floss bread. Aside from this three-wheeled motorcycle, she had gained absolutely nothing today, so Chu Yun didn’t dare to consume too much.
At night, she curled up in the cargo bed of the motorcycle and fell asleep.
The second day of the game.
Last night had been completely calm and uneventful. Aside from it being a bit hot, she slept very soundly.
The motorcycle’s fuel gauge was down to half. The game was only on its second day; if she ran out of gasoline, she estimated that traveling afterward would be grueling. The absolute priority right now was to find fuel.
According to standard game design, since the game had provided a vehicle, it would definitely be equipped with gasoline supply packs. She hoped her luck would be a bit more potent today.
Chu Yun retrieved mineral water and a plain white mantou from her storage ring to stave off her hunger. The mantou was still in the fresh, piping-hot state it had been in when she first put it in—fluffy, soft, and pillowy. The fermented dough was incredibly chewy, tasting better and better the more she chewed.
But it would be even better if I could eat something else, the penniless Chu Yun fantasized beautifully.
After eating her fill, she continued on her way.
The temperature remained extremely high today. Even though it was only early morning, waves of heat were already shimmering off the ground.
Prayers did work after all. In the distance, Chu Yun saw a small black box appear up ahead.
Chu Yun slammed on the brakes, stopping with precision exactly five centimeters in front of the black box.
She stepped out of the vehicle and looked at the small black box with a slight smile. This familiar feeling, this exact same routine.
Chu Yun squatted down. The moment her fingertips brushed against the box, a sudden loud bang erupted, resembling a party popper giving someone a surprise. Two large, pitch-black rats lunged out from within, and one of them bit into Chu Yun’s outstretched hand.
Shoot. Her excitement had caused her danger perception to drop.
Chu Yun rapidly stood up and drew her spiked mace. Disregarding her bitten hand, she swung at the rats’ flight paths.
Squeak, squeak, squeak!
The rats were remarkably fat, yet their movements were incredibly agile as they nimbly dodged left and right. However, Chu Yun anticipated their anticipation. Before long, the brains of the two large black rats were splattered everywhere, and they breathed their last with a miserable shriek.
One second, two seconds, ten seconds, thirty seconds passed.
The rats remained rats after they died; they did not dissolve into black smoke, nor did any gold coin rewards pop up.
Chu Yun’s expression gradually shifted from anticipation to a blank stare. “…”
It seemed… it seemed she had been tricked.
[You have been bitten by a rat, which will cause a continuous negative impact on your body. Please seek treatment immediately.]
Instantly, Chu Yun felt a wave of weakness wash over her body, and a bout of nausea rose in her throat. The negative impact actually set in this quickly.
……
The gain was definitely not worth the loss!
Remembering the medical bandages in her storage ring, Chu Yun retrieved one. After clicking “use,” the rat bite wound completely vanished, and the negative impact disappeared along with it.
“These bandages are truly high-tech. I need to save up gold coins to hoard more medical supplies in the future!” she mused inwardly.
Chu Yun disdainfully kicked the dead rats’ corpses into the desert beside the road, just about to turn around and return to the motorcycle.
Suddenly, she saw the dead rat carcasses slowly sink beneath the sand, as if something below was dragging them down. Before long, two completely intact rat skeletons were tossed out, their flesh picked absolutely clean.
She recalled the sign she had seen on her first day in the highway instance: Dangerous creatures inhabit this area.
Risk and reward coexisted; the higher the risk, the higher the reward. Could there be a resource point placed by the game down there? Having gained absolutely nothing after a day and a half, Chu Yun was thoroughly humbled by reality. Slapping down the flag she had raised when she first saw the warning sign, she decided to go down and take a look.
The yellow sand bulged slightly upward, propelled by the creature beneath the surface. It swam smoothly through the sand as if it were water, leaving a trail of ripples in its wake.
Seeing that the bulging sand was about to head into the distance, she raised her spiked mace and struck toward the head of the dune.
The creature was moving very fast, causing her mace to land slightly off-center. Upon being attacked, it surfaced from beneath the sand.
Hiss, hiss, hiss!
Only then did Chu Yun clearly see the creature’s true form. It was a king cobra, its neck flattened, reaching three meters in length. Its body was as thick as a normal adult man’s arm.
It reared its head high, coiling its body into a circle. A blood-red tongue flicked from its mouth, exposing sharp fangs. It stared with wide, furious eyes at this wretched human who had launched a sneak attack, its gaze oozing sheer malice and hostility toward Chu Yun.
Chu Yun caught sight of its health bar; it had only lost 3% from the mace strike. It was a mob of this instance—she could fight it!
King cobras were highly venomous. The more vibrant the patterns, the more lethal the venom. She had to be careful not to let its saliva touch her. She remembered old folks saying that to kill a snake, one had to strike its seven-inch mark—the heart.
Chu Yun and the king cobra stood in the desert, locked in a tense standoff. They remained at a standstill, neither initiating the attack first.
The king cobra was no ordinary opponent. It shifted its body, keeping its head locked onto Chu Yun, circling as it looked for an opening.
Chu Yun stared unblinkingly at the king cobra, not daring to relax or slip up in the slightest. The moment it made even a minor movement, she would launch a surprise assault.
Suddenly, Chu Yun hurled a bottle of mineral water from her storage ring, sending it flying toward the king cobra like an arrow. Believing this to be Chu Yun’s attack, the king cobra snapped its rows of sharp teeth around the bottle. At that exact split second, Chu Yun lunged forward with lightning speed, slamming her mace squarely onto the snake’s seven-inch mark.
The king cobra realized it had been tricked, but it was a step too late. Its high-reared head was smashed to the ground. Chu Yun stepped forward and delivered a few more heavy blows. Only when she saw the king cobra stop moving entirely did she finally cease.
[Congratulations on defeating the King Cobra. Acquired 30 Gold Coins, 1x Mechanical Watch, 1x Bottle of Concentrated Snake Venom, 1x Universal Antidote Pill.]
Concentrated Snake Venom: Capable of poisoning all living creatures within a half-mile radius. Soluble in water, requires oral ingestion.
Universal Antidote Pill: Capable of curing snake venom, plague, pestilence, and various other bizarre viruses. Since it’s universal, using it on ordinary toxins would definitely be a waste of a great tool; she needed to save it for a critical moment.
A watch would allow her to keep track of time. Chu Yun strapped the mechanical watch onto her wrist.
Presently, she had secured two items of survival supplies: the compass and the mechanical watch.
