Chapter 6: The Boss of Section 444
Lin Huai sent no further reply. Her electric tricycle rolled forward at a steady speed along the highway. With fifteen kilometers left out of today’s twenty-kilometer goal, she was certain she could finish well before nightfall.
After traveling another two li, Lin Huai suddenly remembered something important.
She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the diamond-shaped jade stone. Opening three yellow talisman boxes in a row had made her so excited that she had completely forgotten about this prize. It was the special compensation she had received for giving up the vehicle blind box, and she had not yet checked what it could do. Now was the perfect time to find out.
She blinked twice and turned on the light screen’s scan feature.
[Yellow Springs Road Guide: Vehicle navigation system. Must be installed on a vehicle to function. Activation requirements: Yin energy crystals x10, Compass x1, Low-tier ghost soul x1.]
A navigation tool? Something this advanced actually exists?
Lin Huai was genuinely surprised. She could not help but praise the assistant out loud: “Old Hei, you really are the shining star among system assistants! You actually gave me such great treasure!”
Old Hei’s voice buzzed in her ear at once, dripping with his usual mockery.
“Heh, don’t celebrate too early. Good things are only good if you have the strength to keep them. If you can’t protect what’s yours, a treasure will only become your death warrant~.”
No one understood that truth better than Lin Huai. It was a lesson she had learned in her past life at the cost of her own blood, and it was carved into her bones.
Still, she had traveled through dozens of sectors and encountered many system guides before, yet none had ever handed out rewards as generous as Old Hei. In Lin Huai’s eyes, Old Hei suddenly seemed much more reliable.
However, she could not recall who had been the assistant for Zone 444 back then; it certainly had not been Old Hei. Perhaps when she was reborn and switched zones, the assistants had been shifted around as well.
Moving at an average speed of thirty kilometers per hour, covering the remaining fifteen kilometers would take only half an hour. Even with brief stops to pick up roadside supply crates, reaching her daily goal would take less than an hour.
Checking the chat lobby, she saw that Snowy Mochi had finished her twenty kilometers long ago. With only an electric tricycle, Lin Huai knew she could not beat a sports car in distance. If she wanted to stand out, she had to build an advantage elsewhere.
At the end of every month, each zone held an official ranking event.
There were three separate leaderboards: the Monster Kill Leaderboard, the Mileage Leaderboard, and the Resource Leaderboard. The system combined the points earned across these three categories to produce an overall combat power ranking for the entire server.
Sometimes, dark-horse players emerged. Even if someone placed lower on all three individual lists, rare lucky encounters could award bonus points and push them straight to the top of the overall power ranking.
These rankings were far more than simple bragging rights. The top ten players on each leaderboard earned rich tier rewards, and the server’s number-one player received a mysterious grand prize given out directly by the system.
Lin Huai had never learned what that special prize was; in her previous life, she had been too weak and isolated to access such high-level information.
This time, however, she intended to claim a spot on the boards and take every reward she could get.
Since her mileage could not compete with sports cars right now, she decided to let that go for the moment. But the Monster Kill list, the Resource list, and the overall server ranking were well within her reach.
Because of this, Lin Huai kept driving forward even after passing the twenty-kilometer mark. Since no monsters were chasing her on the first day, she would cover as much ground as possible.
As she drove, she kept one eye on the public messages in the lobby.
Dragon Rising from the Sea: I opened a box and triggered a Safety Ambassador! I’m injured. Does anyone have medical supplies? I’ll be very grateful for any help!
Snowy Mochi: A Porsche is so fast! I’ve already driven forty kilometers. Does anyone know if I should keep going?
Don’t Run a Fever Everywhere: @Dragon Rising from the Sea, Hahaha, that’s what you get for playing the hero! Look at you dying now! Where are all your friends to save you?
Fastest Hand at SF Express: I can’t help, brother. What do medical supplies even look like? I haven’t seen any yet…
Cute and Sparkling: What is a Safety Ambassador?
Starving Blue Knight: I know! They’re roadside monsters—creatures with missing arms and broken legs that jump out of boxes! Watch out! I just ran into one, and it scared me so badly that I zoomed off on my scooter without even grabbing the box!
Snowy Mochi: Oh, so that’s what they are! Wow, I’m so lucky, I haven’t seen a single monster in any of my crates yet!
Don’t Run a Fever Everywhere: Hmph, I ran into one too, and it was pathetic. I took it down without breaking a sweat. Some weaklings love to act like saints, only to get crushed by a tiny monster. What a joke! Total loser!
Lin Huai frowned slightly. Is Dragon Rising from the Sea really this unpopular right now?
If so, how did he manage to unite Zone 444 later on?
In her previous life, he had become the undisputed top boss of Zone 444. That meant someone had saved his life today, right?
At first, Lin Huai thought she could stay out of it, assuming someone else would step in. But on second thought, she remembered the debt of gratitude she owed him. Treating his wounds today would be her way of paying him back for the shelter he had given her in the past.
With that in mind, Lin Huai opened a private chat window with Dragon Rising from the Sea.
Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice: Benefactor, didn’t you get any medicine from your starter pack?
Dragon Rising from the Sea: I only got basic bandages. They aren’t doing much.
Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice: How bad is the wound?
Dragon Rising from the Sea sent a photo showing a close-up of his injury.
Across his firm, well-built abdomen was a puncture wound the size of a fist. Even though he had wrapped it tightly with bandages, dark blood was still soaking through the cloth.
Looking at the size and shape of the torn flesh, it had clearly not been caused by an ordinary Safety Ambassador from a wooden box. Dragon Rising from the Sea must have opened a yellow talisman box.
In the photo, the man was sitting on the ground, leaning his back against a massive vehicle tire. Although his face was cropped out of the frame, Lin Huai could easily picture his pale, exhausted state.
From the visible wheel rim and body panel, she could tell his vehicle was an extraordinary, specialized machine—just as she remembered from her past life. It was definitely him.
She opened the storage space inside her golden nanmu coffin and searched through her medical items. She did not carry many: two rolls of bandages, three bottles of evil-dispelling alcohol spray, one spiritual energy pill, two painkiller tablets, two jars of universal healing ointment, and one pack of cold medicine.
Lin Huai quickly worked out what was needed to treat a tear of that size, then sent him one jar of universal healing ointment and one painkiller. She added a bottle of evil-dispelling alcohol spray as well.
Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice: When a ghost claws you, dirty ghost energy lingers in the flesh. Spray the wound with the alcohol first to clean out the corruption, or it won’t heal properly.
Dragon Rising from the Sea: Thank you.
He replied with just those two words, accepted the items right away, and went silent.
Lin Huai had not helped him for praise, but going quiet without another word right after taking the medicine felt a bit strange.
Nearly a full minute passed before another message popped up on her screen.
Dragon Rising from the Sea: [Bowing Emoji] Thank you so much for saving my life, Big Sister. The bleeding has stopped, and the wound is closing. I want to pay you back properly, but my supplies are very limited, and I don’t have anything rare. What do you need right now?
To show he was not making excuses, he attached a screenshot of his inventory.
Lin Huai took a quick glance. His resources were far worse than “limited”—they were pitifully bare.
Is this the curse of having an overpowered vehicle? she thought. The stronger the starting vehicle, the worse your luck with opening supply boxes?
Looking at his sad inventory—a measly three small rolls of bread—she suspected that even if the monster had not injured him, he might have starved to death within days.
Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice: To be honest, you barely have anything, and none of it is useful to me right now. Let’s just leave it at that. There is no need to thank me.
If anything, I’m the one who should thank you, she added silently to herself, though she could never say those words aloud.
Dragon Rising from the Sea: I’m truly sorry. I really don’t have anything valuable to give you right now. But if you ever need my help with anything in the future, Big Sister, I will walk through fire and water for you without a second thought. As soon as I find good items, I will make this up to you.
Lin Huai did not reply again, quietly closing the conversation and turning down his offer.
