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Desert Apocalypse Started, But He Upgraded A Broken Van Into The Most OP Survival Base — Transcript

by Lumos Manhwa Recap · 30,069 words · 4,500 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00I woke up on a burning hot road. The
0:02asphalt was so hot it hurt my skin,
0:04maybe 40° outside. The last thing I
0:07remember was sitting on my couch at home
0:09after work, scrolling through videos on
0:11my phone. Then everything went black and
0:13I ended up here. I forced myself to
0:16stand up. My body was weak from years of
0:18office work, and the heat made
0:20everything worse. I looked around and
0:22saw a straight three-lane highway
0:24stretching endlessly in both directions.
0:27On both sides, nothing but desert. No
0:30buildings, no plants, no people, just
0:33yellow sand and wind. One end of the
0:35road disappeared into the distance. The
0:38other end was covered in thick black fog
0:40that rolled and moved like it was alive.
0:42It gave me chills just looking at it.
0:44Then I noticed a silver bracelet on my
0:46left wrist. It wasn't there before, and
0:49I couldn't take it off. It lit up and
0:51projected a screen in front of my eyes
0:53with a message. The global highway race
0:56had begun. Everyone on Earth between 16
0:58and 50 was forced to join. Death is
1:01permanent. No second chances. The first
1:0424 hours are a beginner period where I'm
1:06completely alone. After that, other
1:09players show up. The rules said, "Don't
1:11go near the black fog. Don't step off
1:14the road into the sand. Supplies can be
1:16found along the way. Get moving before
1:18dark. I found a beat up old van parked
1:21next to me. My starter vehicle. I got
1:24inside and started exploring the
1:26bracelet's features. There was a
1:28communication channel where I could see
1:29messages from other people in my area.
1:32Most of them were panicking, screaming,
1:34begging to go home. A few were trying to
1:36stay calm and figure things out. I
1:38checked my personal stats. My physical
1:41score was only eight, but my mental
1:43score was 13. I had an empty tin slot
1:46inventory and the van with just 5 L of
1:49fuel. Then came the talent draw. Every
1:51player gets one free random talent,
1:54ranging from normal to silver rank. I
1:57spun the wheel and got silver, the best
1:59possible result. My talent was called
2:02promotion. It could upgrade any item by
2:04one rank with 100% success, two ranks at
2:0820% or three ranks at 0.01%.
2:11But it had a 7-day cool down. A crazy
2:14idea hit me. The talent says it works on
2:17any item. What if the talent itself
2:19counts as an item? Could I use promotion
2:21on itself? I was nervous. If it
2:24backfired, I might lose the talent or
2:26even hurt myself. But the situation was
2:29desperate. I decided to risk it. It
2:31worked. The system confirmed talents
2:33count as special items. I activated it
2:36and the result was beyond anything I
2:39expected. It jumped three full ranks all
2:42the way to mythical. My new talent was
2:44called Rule Break. Rule Break lets me
2:46upgrade items five times per day. 100%
2:50chance for one rank up, 30% for two, 5%
2:53for three. It also has a special ability
2:56that guarantees a three rank jump once
2:58every 72 hours. Nothing can go above
3:01mythical rank, and it only works on
3:04supplies, equipment, and blueprints.
3:06After the excitement faded, I calmed
3:08down and faced reality. I was
3:11dehydrated, low on energy, had no food
3:14or water, and only 5 L of gas. The
3:17beginner period would end in 24 hours,
3:20and after that, I'd have to deal with
3:21other players, and the first disaster. I
3:24gripped the steering wheel, hit the
3:26ignition, and the old van rumbled to
3:29life. It was automatic transmission with
3:31a push start button, weirdly fancy for
3:33such a wreck. I looked down the endless
3:36road ahead, and made up my mind. Time to
3:38move. I checked my bracelet. 12:20. Time
3:41to get moving. I started driving slowly,
3:44keeping the speed low. My van maxes out
3:46at 60 kmh and with only 5 L of fuel, I
3:50couldn't afford to waste a single drop.
3:53The road stretched endlessly ahead.
3:55Black asphalt cutting through yellow
3:57desert on both sides. No signs, no other
4:00cars, nothing. Just me and the silence.
4:03While driving, I kept one hand on the
4:05wheel and used the other to browse the
4:07bracelets menus, looking for any useful
4:10information. My biggest worry was
4:12supplies. Water, food, fuel, tools. I
4:16had nothing. Based on all the survival
4:18novels I've read, supplies should appear
4:20somewhere along the road, maybe in
4:22crates or abandoned vehicles. But after
4:25nearly a kilometer, I still hadn't found
4:27anything. I checked the regional chat
4:29again. People were still panicking.
4:31Someone's mom went looking for water and
4:33disappeared. Someone's car broke down
4:36right after starting. People were
4:37begging for help. Mixed in with the
4:39chaos, a few messages about talents
4:41caught my eye. One person got a normal
4:44ranked talent called minor self-healing,
4:46barely useful, their cuts still bled for
4:49a while. Another got bronze rank,
4:51physical enhancement, and felt
4:53noticeably stronger. Someone else got
4:55iron rank, water sensing that detects
4:58water within 50 m, but it hadn't
5:00triggered once. So, the talent ranks
5:02people could draw were normal, bronze,
5:05iron, and silver at best. My talent had
5:08jumped from silver all the way to
5:10mythical, skipping over unknown ranks in
5:12between. What comes after silver, gold,
5:15legendary? Nobody knew. And is mythical
5:18really the ceiling? No answers for now.
5:20I also thought about my vehicle. It's
5:23labeled level one, which means upgrades
5:25must exist. Faster speed, better fuel
5:28efficiency, maybe special features. But
5:31my talent specifically says it only
5:32works on supplies, equipment, and
5:35blueprints, not vehicles. So, I need to
5:37find another way to upgrade the van.
5:39After driving for a while, I finally
5:41spotted something. A dark gray metal box
5:44sitting right in the middle of the road,
5:46about the size of a suitcase. I slowed
5:49down and stopped about 5 m away. I
5:51didn't rush out immediately. I watched
5:53from inside the car for a full minute,
5:56checking every direction, every mirror.
5:58No people, no traps, nothing unusual.
6:01Just sand and empty road. I got out,
6:04walked over, and touched the box. My
6:07bracelet buzzed, and a message appeared.
6:09Normal supply box detected. Open. Before
6:12opening it, I had an idea. Could I use
6:14my talent to upgrade the box first? I
6:17tried, but got a rejection message. The
6:19box doesn't qualify for talent upgrades.
6:22So, I just opened it. The box glowed
6:24faintly, turned transparent, and
6:27dissolved into tiny sparks of light. At
6:30the same time, my inventory updated with
6:32everything inside. Two bottles of water,
6:35500 ml each. Two compressed biscuits,
6:38100g each. One pack of beef jerky, 50g.
6:43One chocolate bar, 30g, and 10 L of
6:46gasoline, enough for about 100 more
6:48kilm. Five items filled five of my 10
6:51inventory slots. The three most critical
6:54survival needs, water, food, and fuel,
6:57were covered in one go. I finally let
6:59myself relax just a little. I got back
7:02in the van, leaned against the seat, and
7:05closed my eyes for a few seconds. When I
7:07opened them again, I felt steadier. This
7:10first supply box meant there would be
7:11more ahead, but more supplies also meant
7:14more unknowns, dangers, traps, maybe
7:17other players. I pushed those thoughts
7:19aside, pressed the gas gently, and kept
7:22driving forward. I kept driving steadily
7:24at around 50 kmh, saving fuel while
7:28staying alert. After the first supply
7:30box, I felt much calmer. I had water,
7:33food, and with the 10 L of gas added to
7:36my original five, I had about 13 L,
7:40enough for roughly 130 more km. I didn't
7:43bother opening the regional chat again.
7:45It was probably still full of people
7:47screaming and begging for help. Watching
7:49that wouldn't do me any good. Better to
7:51focus on the road and look for more
7:53supplies. About 20 minutes and another
7:5620 km later, I spotted something on the
7:59right side of the road. Another metal
8:01box slightly smaller than the first one
8:03sitting at the base of a sand dune. This
8:06one had a faint bronzecoled glow on its
8:08surface and more detailed patterns
8:10carved into it. I stopped the van,
8:13watched from inside for a while, checked
8:15every direction. Nothing suspicious. I
8:17got out and touched the box. The
8:19bracelet buzzed. Bronze supply box
8:22detected. Open. Bronze rank one level
8:25above the normal box I found earlier. I
8:27opened it right away. The box dissolved
8:30into light just like before, and my
8:32inventory updated with new items. a
8:34green quality automatic crossbow with 10
8:37bolts for bottles of mineral sports
8:39water for energy bars and two
8:41vacuum-sealed braced eggs. Better stuff
8:44than the first box and more of it. The
8:46crossbow was the real prize, my first
8:48weapon. The description said it was a
8:50basic civilian model. Easy to use,
8:53moderate power. Then I had an idea. My
8:56mythical talent rule breaks on
8:58equipment. Could I upgrade this
9:00crossbow? I focused my mind and used the
9:02talent on it. The bracelet flashed blue
9:05and the crossbow upgraded from green to
9:07blue quality. The new description showed
9:10an expanded magazine, increased power,
9:13heavy damage against large beasts, and
9:1520 bolts instead of 10. A huge
9:17improvement. Feeling greedy, I tried
9:20using the talent on the same crossbow
9:22again to push it even higher. Nothing
9:24happened. No response at all. So,
9:26there's a rule. Each item can only be
9:28upgraded once. No stacking. I checked my
9:31talent uses for the day for remaining
9:34out of five, resetting at midnight. Each
9:36use could make a big difference, so I
9:38decided to save the rest. Unless
9:40something urgent came up, I wouldn't
9:42waste them on low- value items. Better
9:44to wait and see what else I find down
9:46the road. The bronze box gave no extra
9:49fuel, which was a small disappointment,
9:51but my current supply was still fine. I
9:53took a sip of water, placed the crossbow
9:55on the passenger seat where I could grab
9:57it quickly, and got back on the road.
10:00With a real weapon and enough supplies
10:02to last a while, I finally felt like I
10:04had a fighting chance. I got back on the
10:06road and started thinking about
10:08patterns. The first supply box appeared
10:10around 10 km in, right in the middle of
10:13the road. The second one showed up 20 km
10:16later on the side near a sand dune. No
10:19clear pattern, different distances,
10:21different spots. The boxes are about 40
10:24cm on each side. Not tiny, but easy to
10:27miss in this heatwarped desert
10:29landscape. That's exactly why I refused
10:32to open the chat channel again. Any
10:34distraction could mean missing a box.
10:36And missing a box could mean death. I
10:38wondered if supply boxes might also
10:40appear deeper in the sand away from the
10:42road. But the bracelet warned us to stay
10:44on the highway. And I wasn't about to
10:46test what's hiding out there. In this
10:48world, playing it safe comes first. It
10:51hit me that I'd only been here about an
10:53hour, but I was already more exhausted
10:55than a full day at the office. Constant
10:57alertness, scanning the road, thinking
11:00through every decision, it drained me
11:02fast. Strangely though, mixed in with
11:04the tiredness was a small thrill.
11:07Finding supplies through my own careful
11:09thinking felt oddly satisfying. Maybe
11:12I've always wanted something like this
11:13deep down. I shook that thought off and
11:15refocused. About 30 minutes and 20 more
11:18kilometers later, I spotted another gray
11:21metal box by the left side of the road.
11:23A normal rank one, same as the first.
11:26Before getting out, I cleared some space
11:28in my inventory by moving items to the
11:30back seat since the bracelet storage
11:33only holds 10 things. I grabbed my
11:35crossbow and went to open it. The
11:37contents were basic. A pack of toilet
11:40paper, a lemon sports drink, a mini
11:42lighter, and three metal blocks. Nothing
11:45exciting, but the metal blocks caught my
11:47attention. The bracelet said they could
11:49be used for repairs or crafting later.
11:51Could be important down the line. What
11:53really worried me was fuel. After 60 km
11:56of driving, I was down to about 6 L,
11:59enough for maybe 60 more km. If I didn't
12:02find gas soon, the van would die on me.
12:05I kept driving for almost another hour,
12:07covering 40 more km, reaching about 100
12:10km total. My anxiety was growing. I was
12:14seriously considering slowing down to
12:16save fuel when something caught my eye.
12:18A faint white reflection out in the
12:20yellow sand off the road. It had that
12:23same cold metallic shine as the supply
12:25boxes. Could it be another box or
12:28something else entirely? I turned off
12:29the engine and stared at it for a while.
12:32It was too far to tell what it was. But
12:34with my fuel running low and options
12:36shrinking, I made a decision. Whatever
12:38it was, it was worth checking out. I
12:41took a deep breath, grabbed my crossbow,
12:43opened the door, and started walking out
12:46into the hot sand toward that distant
12:48glint of light. Before stepping into the
12:50sand, I prepared carefully. I moved all
12:53four bottles of sports water from the
12:55back seat into my bracelet storage.
12:57Water was the most important thing to
12:59carry. I left the food in the car. No
13:01matter what was out there, the van was
13:03my lifeline. If anything went wrong, I'd
13:06turned back immediately. I stepped off
13:08the road into the sand. The moment my
13:10feet touched it, burning pain shot
13:12through my sauce. Walking was brutal.
13:15The soft sand grabbed at my feet with
13:17every step like trudging through thick
13:19cotton. Each stride took enormous
13:21effort. Within minutes, I was drenched
13:24in sweat. Out here, there was no breeze
13:26like when driving. The heat wrapped
13:28around me like a cage. Every breath felt
13:31like swallowing fire. The ground
13:33temperature had to be over 50°. I walked
13:36for about 30 minutes but covered less
13:38than a kilometer. I stopped occasionally
13:40to rest against sand dunes and took tiny
13:43sips of water, never daring to drink too
13:45much. After another 20 minutes, I
13:47finally reached the shining object,
13:50roughly 1.5 km from the road, but it
13:52took me nearly 50 minutes to get there.
13:55I was completely soaked, legs heavy as
13:57lead, barely able to lift my arms. But
14:00when I touched the box and saw the
14:02message, the exhaustion faded a little.
14:04Iron rank supply box detected. Open Iron
14:08Rank higher than bronze. I opened it
14:10immediately. The rewards were worth
14:12every painful step. 20 L of fuel, a
14:16lucky pendant, and a vehicle engine. The
14:18fuel alone solved my biggest problem. I
14:21didn't stop to examine the items. I
14:23needed to get back to the van before I
14:24collapsed. The return trip was even
14:27harder. My legs were screaming. My
14:29vision was getting blurry from heat and
14:31exhaustion. and I only had one bottle of
14:34water left. I kept going on pure
14:36willpower, taking tiny sips, scanning
14:39for danger, putting one foot in front of
14:41the other with a single thought in my
14:43head, get back to the car. It took me
14:45almost an hour to make it back. When I
14:48finally reached the van, I practically
14:50fell into the driver's seat, completely
14:52drained. I couldn't even lift my hands.
14:55I sat there gasping for over 10 minutes
14:57before I could move again. I drank the
14:59last of my water, wiped the sand and
15:01sweat off my face, and finally opened my
15:04inventory to examine what I'd found,
15:06especially that engine. If I could
15:08install it on the van, that could change
15:10everything. After resting for a while, I
15:13started going through the items from the
15:15iron rank box one by one. First, the 20
15:18L of fuel. I added it straight to the
15:20tank through the bracelet. With my
15:22remaining fuel plus this, I had plenty
15:24of gas again. That was a huge relief.
15:27Next, the lucky pendant. It was a blue
15:30quality vehicle accessory that slightly
15:32increases the chance of getting better
15:34items from supply boxes. This was a
15:36long-term investment. The more boxes I
15:39open, the more it pays off. So, I
15:41decided to use one of my talent charges
15:43on it. The result surprised me. Instead
15:45of jumping one rank, it jumped two all
15:48the way to gold quality. Now, it greatly
15:50increases the chance of rare and
15:52highquality drops and even gives a small
15:55chance of avoiding low-level dangers. I
15:57installed it right away. A little
15:59gourd-shaped pendant appeared next to
16:01the dashboard. Then, I looked at the
16:03vehicle engine, green quality, and the
16:05description said it would add 20 to my
16:08speed and reduce fuel use by 20%. This
16:11was clearly the most important item in
16:13this world. The van is everything, my
16:16shelter, my transport, my survival. I
16:19figured the early supply boxes probably
16:21give finished products on purpose since
16:24nobody has enough raw materials to craft
16:26anything yet. I used another talent
16:28charge on the engine. It upgraded to
16:30blue quality. Speed boost increased to
16:3340. Fuel savings jumped to 40% plus
16:36better durability and lower breakdown
16:38chance. I installed it immediately. My
16:41vehicle stats updated. The van's top
16:43speed went from 60 to 100 kmh. A massive
16:47improvement that left me with two talent
16:50uses remaining for today. I'd used them
16:52well. The pendant and the engine were
16:54both worth it. I also thought about what
16:56I learned from the desert trip. The sand
16:58hides higher rank supply boxes, but
17:00getting to them is brutal. Extreme heat,
17:03exhausting terrain, heavy water
17:05consumption. My rule going forward,
17:08stick to the road unless I'm desperate
17:10for highle supplies or fuel, and only
17:12venture into the sand when it's
17:14relatively safe. Steady survival beats
17:17risky grabs. I started the van, got back
17:20on the highway, and kept driving. With a
17:22full tank and a faster engine, I felt
17:25more confident than before. I kept my
17:27eyes sharp, scanning the road and the
17:29sand dunes on both sides. One hand on
17:32the wheel, the other never far from the
17:34crossbow. It was almost 400 p.m. I
17:36decided to pick up speed. The upgraded
17:39engine ran smooth and quiet now. Nothing
17:41like the rattling mess it was before. I
17:44pushed harder and covered 100 km in one
17:46stretch, finding four supply boxes along
17:49the way. I didn't waste any time. Stop,
17:52touch, open, collect, drive. Each box
17:55dissolved in seconds, and everything
17:57went straight into my inventory. By the
18:00time I opened the last box, it was
18:02nearly 6:00 p.m. The sun was sinking
18:04fast, turning into a dark red blur on
18:07the horizon. The desert was filling with
18:09shadows, and the air was getting cold.
18:12Then the bracelet flashed with a global
18:14announcement. Nighttime had begun.
18:16Visibility would keep dropping and
18:18driving at night meant unknown risks. I
18:21wasn't going to push my luck. I stopped
18:23the van in the middle of the road,
18:25killed the engine, and decided to use
18:27the last bit of daylight to sort through
18:29everything I'd collected. The two normal
18:31boxes gave me basic stuff. Six bottles
18:34of water for packs of instant noodles,
18:36two compressed biscuits, and three
18:38pieces of cloth. The two bronze boxes
18:41were much better. Eight more bottles of
18:43water, five vacuum- packed breads, three
18:46brazed eggs, 12 metal blocks for rubber
18:49pieces, three plastic pieces, and 10 L
18:51of fuel. The fuel was a relief. It
18:54covered what I'd burned getting here.
18:56But the real prizes from the bronze
18:57boxes were two special items. First, a
19:01green quality vehicle frame blueprint.
19:03It could be used to build a stronger
19:05frame for the van, improving durability
19:07and weight capacity. The cost 20 metal
19:10blocks, five rubber, five plastic. I
19:13checked my stock. Only 15 metal for
19:16rubber, three plastic. Not enough yet. I
19:19thought about upgrading the blueprint
19:20with my talent, but hesitated. If
19:22upgrading it also raised the material
19:24cost, I'd be worse off. I also wondered
19:28if I upgrade the blueprint now and then
19:30craft the item. Could I upgrade the
19:32finished product again? That would be
19:34incredibly powerful. But I couldn't test
19:36any of this without enough materials.
19:38So, I set the blueprint aside for later.
19:40Second, a green quality reinforced glass
19:43that could replace all the van's broken
19:45windows. This one I didn't hesitate on.
19:48The van is my shelter, especially at
19:50night. Window protection matters. I used
19:53my talent on it right away. It upgraded
19:55to blue quality crystallized bulletproof
19:58glass. The description said it was
20:00extremely strong and tough and could
20:02even block some outside temperature. I
20:04installed it immediately. All the old
20:07cracked windows dissolved and were
20:08replaced with clear solid glass that fit
20:11perfectly. When I touched it, I could
20:13feel how thick and hard it was. That
20:16used up my third talent charge for the
20:17day, leaving me with one. I moved all
20:20the water and food to the space behind
20:22the driver's seat for easy access.
20:25Sitting in the van with the new
20:26bulletproof windows, I felt genuinely
20:28safer. I looked out at the darkening sky
20:31and wondered, "Were my results good
20:33compared to other survivors? Was I just
20:36lucky or was the gold lucky pendant
20:38already making a difference? I lay back
20:40in the driver's seat, too wired to
20:42sleep. The night had come and the system
20:45said staying inside the car was the
20:47safest option. No driving, no going
20:49outside. My body was exhausted after six
20:52straight hours of non-stop action. But
20:54my mind wouldn't shut off. Since I
20:56couldn't move anyway, I decided to use
20:59this time to gather information. One
21:01small comfort, my parents are both over
21:0350, outside the 16 to 50 age range for
21:06this competition. They're safe. I'm
21:09alone in this, but at least I don't have
21:11to worry about them. I opened the world
21:13channel first. It was a mess. Messages
21:16flying by so fast I could barely read
21:18them, and over 90% were just people
21:20crying for help. After a few minutes, I
21:22closed it. Useless. The regional channel
21:25was better. Each person can only post
21:27three messages per day, so there was
21:29less spam. Still, with 100,000 people in
21:33one region, there was plenty to read. I
21:35scrolled through carefully. Some people
21:37were begging for water and food. A few
21:39hadn't even left their cars all day.
21:41They never went looking for supplies. I
21:44couldn't believe it. Those people
21:45probably still hadn't accepted what was
21:47happening. They wouldn't last long.
21:49Others were being practical, sharing
21:51tips. Drive along the road to find
21:54supply boxes. Touch them to open. Stay
21:56inside your car at night. Basic stuff,
21:59but helpful for the clueless ones.
22:01People were already talking about
22:02teaming up after the 24-hour beginner
22:05period ends. Some guys were showing off
22:07their talents, trying to attract female
22:09partners. I'm iron rank. I'll protect
22:11you. Free food and drinks. Typical. What
22:14interested me most were the talent
22:16discussions. Most people had normal rank
22:18talents. A few had iron rank. Bronze was
22:21rare. Nobody mentioned having silver.
22:24One person with a bronze rank mental
22:26alert talent complained it felt useless
22:28since nothing had come near them all
22:30day. After over an hour of reading, I
22:33noticed something important. Not a
22:34single person mentioned getting
22:36blueprints, reinforced glass, or any
22:39special equipment from their boxes. Most
22:41people only found basic food, water, and
22:44common materials. Even the lucky ones
22:46who found bronze boxes only got slightly
22:49better versions of the same basic stuff.
22:51Nobody mentioned even a single green
22:53quality item. That's when it really hit
22:55me. My results today were top tier. But
22:58I also knew that smart players like me
23:01would never reveal what they had. I'd
23:03been reading the channel for hours
23:04without posting a single message. Why
23:07show your cards in a survival game? One
23:09thing puzzled me though, the trading
23:11system was locked. There was no private
23:13messaging and everyone's posts were
23:15anonymous, no names attached. Would
23:18these features unlock after the 24-hour
23:20beginner phase? Or did they need some
23:22kind of trigger? No way to know yet. I
23:24closed the channel and stared out at the
23:26pitch black night through my new
23:28bulletproof windows. I felt calmer now.
23:31I had a decent picture of where everyone
23:33else stood, and I was clearly ahead.
23:35Next steps. keep collecting supplies,
23:38gather enough materials to build the
23:40vehicle frame, and prepare for whatever
23:42disaster was coming. After the beginner
23:44period ended, by 8:30 p.m., I was
23:47completely drained. 6 hours of driving
23:49and scavenging, plus 2 hours of reading
23:51the chat. I wanted to sleep, but then I
23:54remembered I still had two talent uses
23:56left for the day. They'd reset at
23:58midnight, so if I didn't use them now,
24:00they'd be wasted. I didn't have any good
24:02equipment to upgrade, only basic
24:04supplies. So, I grabbed a bottle of
24:06plain water and used my talent on it. It
24:09upgraded one rank to green quality. The
24:12description said it could quickly remove
24:14fatigue and slowly restore mental energy
24:17for 1 hour. Nice. But using a precious
24:19talent charge on water still felt
24:21wasteful. I took out another bottle for
24:23my last use. This time, luck struck. It
24:26jumped two ranks straight to blue
24:28quality. The water transformed into
24:31something called a physical
24:32strengthening agent. The description
24:34made my heart race. Permanently
24:37increases base physical stat by one
24:39point. No upper limit on how many you
24:41can drink, though only one bottle of the
24:44same quality works per day. Permanent
24:46stat increase from a bottle of water. My
24:48regret vanished instantly. This mythical
24:51talent was insane. And this was only
24:53blue quality. What would happen at even
24:55higher ranks? I drank it immediately. A
24:58warm current spread through my body, a
25:01gentle tingling in my limbs, and the
25:03exhaustion mostly faded away. I checked
25:06my stats. Physical went from 8 to 9. My
25:09sore arms and legs actually felt
25:11stronger. Just one point made a
25:12noticeable difference. I thought about
25:14using my talent's second ability, the
25:17one that forces a three rank jump with a
25:1972-hour cool down on the vehicle frame
25:22blueprint, but the materials weren't
25:24ready yet. So upgrading the blueprint
25:26now would be pointless. Better to wait
25:28for tomorrow and see if I find something
25:30more valuable. Either way, I decided I'd
25:33definitely use that ability tomorrow no
25:35matter what since the sooner I use it,
25:37the sooner the cool down starts. I
25:40adjusted the seat, lay back, and fell
25:42asleep. Sometime later, a shaking woke
25:45me up. I grabbed the crossbow instantly
25:47and checked the time. 12:30 a.m. The
25:50darkness outside was absolute. No lights
25:53anywhere, not even on the van itself.
25:55The only glow came from my bracelet
25:57screen. The van kept rocking, sometimes
26:00gentle, sometimes harder, with muffled
26:03thumping sounds from outside. Something
26:05was out there bumping against my car. My
26:07heart was pounding, but I reminded
26:09myself of the system rules. This was
26:11still the beginner phase. If staying
26:13inside the car wasn't safe, hardly
26:16anyone would survive the first night. I
26:18took a deep breath, gripped the crossbow
26:20tight, and pressed my back against the
26:22seat, staring into the blackness outside
26:25the windows. I wasn't going anywhere.
26:27Whatever was out there, it would have to
26:29get through bulletproof glass first. I
26:31barely slept. The van kept shaking
26:34through the night with strange sounds
26:35outside, but nothing actually broke
26:37through. I sat there half awake,
26:40gripping the crossbow until the sky
26:42finally started to lighten. At 6:00 a.m.
26:45the system announced, "Night has ended.
26:48Enjoy your journey." I checked the
26:49regional chat. People were freaking out
26:51about last night. But the real shock was
26:54the population counter in the corner. It
26:56dropped from 100,000 to 93,632.
27:00Over 6,000 people died in one night.
27:03Probably the ones who got out of their
27:05cars. A harsh reminder that this wasn't
27:07a game. Only 6 hours of beginner phase
27:10left. Afternoon, other players would
27:12appear. This was my last window of safe
27:15development time. I started driving
27:17immediately, eating a brazed egg while
27:19keeping my eyes locked on the road. But
27:22for a full hour and 50 km, nothing
27:24appeared. No boxes at all. Then finally,
27:27a metallic glint in the middle of the
27:29road. An iron rank supply box. Inside, a
27:33level one vehicle upgrade blueprint, a
27:35white quality military tactical knife,
27:38plus five metal blocks, five rubber, and
27:40five plastic. The upgrade blueprint was
27:43the big find. It showed the requirements
27:45for upgrading my van from level one to
27:47level two. A level two engine already
27:50installed. Level two glass already
27:52installed. Level two vehicle frame. Not
27:55yet. Everything clicked. The engine and
27:58bulletproof glass I'd upgraded yesterday
28:00were prerequisites for the level two
28:02vehicle all along. I just needed the
28:04frame and I already had the blueprint
28:06for that from yesterday. I checked my
28:08materials. With today's haul added to
28:11yesterday's stock, I had exactly enough.
28:1320 metal blocks, five rubber, five
28:16plastic. Perfect. I considered upgrading
28:19the blueprint with my talent first, but
28:21decided against it. Higher quality
28:23blueprints probably need more materials,
28:25which would stall me. Better to craft
28:27first, then upgrade the finished
28:29product. I crafted the frame, then
28:31immediately hit it with my talent. It
28:34jumped one rank to blue quality. A high
28:37strength alloy frame with major boosts
28:39to defense, durability, and stability.
28:42Good enough. I installed it. The entire
28:44van transformed before my eyes. Rust,
28:47scratches, and dents melted away. The
28:50exterior became smooth with clean white
28:52paint. Inside, the worn seats became
28:55firm and solid. The dashboard tightened
28:58up. Everything looked brand new. With
29:00all three components installed, I
29:02triggered the level two upgrade. The
29:04system locked the vehicle in place while
29:06a progress bar filled up. When it hit
29:08100%, the result appeared. Level two
29:11standard van. Top speed 120 km per hour.
29:16All three blue quality components
29:17listed. And a bonus, the system gifted
29:20me 50 L of fuel for reaching level two.
29:23The van didn't look different after the
29:25upgrade, but the speed cap jumped to 120
29:28and it could now support advanced
29:30components. I was thrilled. I was
29:32confident nobody else in the game had
29:34reached this point yet. My situation was
29:37solid. Enough water and food, a weapon,
29:40plenty of fuel, a gold quality luck
29:42pendant, and a level two vehicle. Now, I
29:45was getting excited about what came
29:46next. If I could find a blue quality
29:48item today and use my talents three rank
29:51jump ability on it, I might get
29:53something beyond gold quality. I didn't
29:55even know what rank came after gold. I
29:57could barely wait to find out. I calmed
30:00down after the level two upgrade and got
30:02moving. Only about 4 hours of beginner
30:04phase left. A few kilome out, I found
30:07another iron rank box just sitting on
30:09the roadside. Last time, I nearly killed
30:11myself trekking through the desert for
30:13one of these. And now here it was right
30:15next to the road. I checked the regional
30:17chat. Sure enough, people were saying
30:20bronze boxes were showing up more often
30:22today. Seemed like the game was
30:23increasing drop rates on the second day.
30:26I looked at the white quality military
30:27knife I'd gotten earlier and decided not
30:30to waste a talent charge on it. Even
30:32upgraded to green, it'd still be a basic
30:34weapon. Better to save my charges for
30:37food or vehicle parts that could
30:38actually improve my survival. I noticed
30:41something about item quality levels.
30:43Normal is level one. Green is level two.
30:46Blue is level three. My gold pendant
30:48would be level five. But I had no idea
30:51what level four looked like or what came
30:53after gold. About 20 km later, I hit a
30:56fork in the road. Two identical
30:58three-lane highways splitting off in
31:00different directions. No signs, no
31:03markings, nothing to tell them apart.
31:05While I sat there wondering which way to
31:07go, the gold lucky pendant on my
31:09dashboard started glowing. A strong gut
31:12feeling hit me. Go right. No logic
31:14behind it. Just pure instinct from the
31:16pendant. I trusted it and turned right.
31:19For the next 2 hours and over 100 km,
31:22absolutely nothing. Not a single supply
31:24box of any kind. I was getting furious
31:27at the pendant. My food and water were
31:29running low, and the beginner phase was
31:31ending soon. "If I don't find anything
31:33by noon, I'm smashing this stupid
31:35gourd," I muttered. Then, just as I was
31:38about to turn around, a metallic gleam
31:40appeared by the roadside. This box was
31:43different, bigger, with a silver white
31:45glow and finer details than anything I'd
31:48seen before. My bracelet confirmed it.
31:50Silver rank supply box. Inside, I found
31:53four items. An energy core, blue
31:55quality, a vehicle component that
31:57replaces fuel entirely, powering a level
32:00two vehicle for a full day on a single
32:02use. a green quality vehicle air
32:05conditioning blueprint needing just two
32:07metal blocks, one plastic, and one
32:10rubber to craft, plus a case of 12
32:12instant noodle cups, and five bottles of
32:14water. The quantity wasn't huge, but the
32:17quality was exactly what I needed. The
32:20energy core solved my fuel worries
32:22longterm, and the AC blueprint would
32:24finally fix the unbearable heat inside
32:26the van. I looked at the pendant and
32:28felt a little guilty for cursing at it.
32:31It led me right to the best box I'd
32:33found yet. I held the energy core in my
32:35hand, a small blue sphere about the size
32:37of a billiard ball. The system asked if
32:40I wanted to install it, but I said no. I
32:42was thinking about using my talents
32:44special ability on it, the three rank
32:46jump with the 72-hour cool down, but I
32:49still had time before noon. If I found
32:51something even better before then, I'd
32:53use the ability on that instead. If not,
32:56the energy core would be the target. The
32:58vehicle is my most important asset and
33:00energy is the vehicle's lifeblood.
33:03Whatever I decided, it had to serve the
33:05van. First thing I did was check the AC
33:08blueprint. Needed two metal blocks, one
33:10plastic, one rubber. I had the plastic
33:12and rubber, but I'd used up all my metal
33:15blocks building the vehicle frame. I
33:17needed to find more. I organized my
33:19supplies, piling all the food and water
33:22onto the flat cargo area in the back of
33:24the van. The upgraded level two van
33:26looked brand new inside, but the rear
33:28had no seats, just a bare floor, perfect
33:31for storing things. Less than an hour
33:33until the beginner phase ended. Every
33:35second counted. About 30 minutes later,
33:38I found a normal supply box. Inside,
33:41five metal blocks, a pair of white
33:43quality goggles, and a box of chocolate
33:45bars. The metal blocks were exactly what
33:47I needed. I was starting to seriously
33:50believe the gold lucky pendant was
33:51influencing what I found. I immediately
33:54crafted the AC unit. Green quality,
33:57adjustable temperature from 16 to 30°,
34:00cooling and fan modes. The downside, 10%
34:03more fuel consumption. I thought about
34:05upgrading it with my talent, but decided
34:07to hold off. A comfort item wasn't worth
34:10a precious talent charge when I could
34:12use it on something that boosts my
34:13actual stats or survival ability. The
34:16next 20 minutes gave me nothing. Not a
34:18single box. The clock was approaching
34:21noon. I stopped the van in the middle of
34:23the road and pulled out the energy core,
34:25the blue quality sphere from the silver
34:27box. This was the moment I'd been saving
34:30my talents second ability for. The three
34:32rank jump, 72-hour cool down. The energy
34:36core was already blue quality, which is
34:38rank three. Three ranks higher would
34:40push it to rank six beyond gold. I
34:43focused and activated it. The result
34:45nearly made me choke. Blue jumped three
34:48full ranks to orange quality. The energy
34:50core transformed into a vehicle nuclear
34:53reactor effect. Unlimited stable energy.
34:57No more fuel ever. I stared at those
34:59words. My hands were shaking. All the
35:02fuel anxiety, all the careful rationing,
35:05all the worry about running dry. Gone in
35:08an instant. One item solved the single
35:10biggest survival problem on this
35:12highway. Orange quality. I didn't even
35:14know that rank existed until now. I sat
35:17there gripping that faintly glowing
35:19orange sphere, heart pounding, trying to
35:21process what had just happened. Then the
35:23bracelet chimed. The clock hit 12:00.
35:26The highway survival has officially
35:28begun. The beginner phase was over. The
35:31moment the clock hit 12:00, the system
35:33announcements rolled in. The beginner
35:35phase was over. An extreme heat event
35:38had officially started. Temperatures
35:40would keep climbing for 7 days until the
35:42next phase. New features unlocked. a
35:45trading system with three trades per
35:47day, a friends list with private
35:49messaging, and the option to share or
35:51hide your personal info. Most
35:53importantly, some roads would now
35:55overlap with other players paths, and
35:57monsters would start spawning. I was
35:59processing all this when I noticed
36:01something strange on my bracelet. The
36:03clock had been replaced by a red 3inut
36:06countdown, already down to 2 minutes. No
36:09time to think. The heat was already
36:10brutal at nearly 40°. And if this wasn't
36:14even considered the extreme heat phase
36:16yet, things were about to get much
36:18worse. I pulled out the green quality AC
36:21unit and used my talent on it. The 30%
36:24chance for a two rank jump triggered
36:26again. It leaped straight to purple
36:28quality. Temperature range of 12 to 32°.
36:31Fast heating and cooling. Real-time
36:34indoor and outdoor temperature display.
36:36Air purification with a 15% energy
36:39consumption increase. I laughed at that
36:41last part. energy consumption. I had a
36:44nuclear reactor with unlimited power. A
36:46little AC unit wasn't going to make a
36:48dent. I installed it immediately. Cool
36:51air flooded the cabin the instant it
36:52activated. After a day and a half of
36:55sweltering heat, that first wave of cold
36:58air was pure bliss. I sealed all the
37:00windows and set it to a steady 25°. Then
37:04I watched the countdown hit zero.
37:06Everything blurred for a split second
37:08like space folding around me. When my
37:10vision cleared, the world outside had
37:12completely changed. The endless yellow
37:15desert was gone. The road was still
37:17straight, but now there were dark green
37:19bushes lining both sides with scattered
37:22trees in the distance. Still a wide
37:24openen landscape, but with actual signs
37:26of life. I checked the temperature
37:28display. Inside, 25°. Outside, 28°. Only
37:3428. That was cooler than before, but the
37:37system said temperatures would keep
37:39rising. This comfort was temporary. In a
37:41few days, this place would probably
37:43become a real hell. I opened the
37:45regional chat immediately. New map, new
37:48rules, monsters, other players. I needed
37:51to know what everyone else was dealing
37:53with. I opened the regional chat right
37:55away. Messages were flooding in. People
37:58asking if anyone was alive, begging for
38:00fuel, wondering about the map change.
38:03The landscape had shifted for everyone.
38:05desert replaced by scrubland with bushes
38:08and scattered trees. Most people were
38:10panicking about fuel shortages and the
38:12coming monsters. I skipped the chat
38:14quickly and went straight to the new
38:16trading system. I wanted to see if
38:18anyone was selling useful equipment or
38:20blueprints. The trading board was
38:22disappointing. About seven out of every
38:24nine listings were just water and food,
38:27all asking for fuel in return. Fuel had
38:30become the most critical resource for
38:32almost everyone except me. I searched
38:34for weapons first. Everything listed was
38:37garbage. White quality wooden sticks,
38:39rusty iron knives, basic tactical knives
38:42identical to mine. Not a single green
38:44quality weapon, let alone a gun. It made
38:47sense though. Anyone with a good weapon
38:49would never trade it. In a real survival
38:51situation, weapons are your lifeline.
38:54Only useless junk ends up on the market.
38:56Then I searched for blueprints. Out of
38:59100,000 people in the region, fewer than
39:01100 blueprints were listed. Less than
39:04onetenth of a percent drop rate. Most
39:06were worthless household items, a wooden
39:09table design, a small storage box,
39:12things completely useless in a survival
39:14scenario. One caught my eye though, a
39:16mini fridge blueprint, white quality,
39:18cheap materials, but it needed a stable
39:21power source and increased fuel
39:22consumption by 5%. Other players would
39:25skip this because of the energy cost,
39:27but with my nuclear reactor, energy was
39:30unlimited. I noted it, but kept
39:32browsing. Then I found it. A reinforced
39:34off-road tire blueprint, green quality.
39:37It would upgrade my van's tires to high
39:39strength rubber, slightly improve
39:41puncture and wear resistance, and add
39:43tend to speed. The seller wanted 50 L of
39:46fuel. 50 L was steep. Before the
39:49reactor, that would have been everything
39:50I had. But now, fuel was just dead
39:53weight sitting in my inventory. Trading
39:55useless fuel for a tire upgrade was a
39:57no-brainer. I messaged the seller
39:59offering 20 L instead and moved on
40:02without waiting for a reply. I checked
40:04my remaining materials. Three metal
40:06blocks, three plastic, two rubber. Not
40:09much. Food and water were fine for now,
40:12but I needed more raw materials. I
40:14started driving. The engine hummed
40:16smoothly, powered by infinite energy. No
40:19fuel gauge to watch. No anxiety about
40:22running dry. Meanwhile, I glanced at the
40:24temperature display. It had already
40:26climbed from 28 to 29° in less than an
40:29hour. The extreme heat event had barely
40:32started. If it kept rising at this rate
40:34over 7 days, temperatures could reach
40:37deadly levels. 50° or more would kill
40:40people without protection. I closed all
40:42the windows, kept the AC at 25°, and
40:45headed down the road. For now, I was
40:47comfortable, but most other survivors
40:49had no AC, no unlimited power, and
40:53dwindling fuel. The heat alone was going
40:55to wipe out a lot of people. I was
40:57cruising along, feeling pretty
40:59comfortable with my upgraded van and
41:01unlimited power, thinking about trading
41:03for that mini fridge blueprint to
41:05improve my quality of life. Almost
41:07forgot this was a death game. For over
41:09an hour, I found nothing. Not a single
41:11supply box. I slowed down from 70 to 50
41:14kmh, worried I'd been driving too fast
41:18and missing them. Finally, around 300
41:20p.m., I spotted a gray metal box under a
41:23dead tree about 50 m off the left side
41:25of the road. But there was a problem. A
41:28wolf was lying next to it. Not a normal
41:30wolf. This thing was bigger than a tiger
41:33with thick gray fur and massive claws.
41:36I'm a 30-year-old office worker. I've
41:38never killed anything in my life, not
41:40even a chicken. This terrified me. My
41:43first instinct was to drive closer, but
41:45the system immediately warned me.
41:47Vehicles cannot leave the road or there
41:50will be punishment. So, driving up to
41:51grab the box wasn't an option. Then I
41:54remembered my crossbow. Blue quality,
41:56heavy damage against large beasts. I
41:58could shoot from the car through a
42:00cracked window. Even if I missed, the
42:02bulletproof glass would keep me safe. I
42:05opened a small gap in the window, aimed
42:07carefully, and fired. Hit the tree. Five
42:10more shots. All misses. I was losing my
42:13mind. I'd never shot anything before in
42:15my life. On the seventh try, the bolt
42:18finally sank into the wolf's back. Blood
42:20sprayed out. The wolf howled and charged
42:23straight at my van. It slammed into the
42:25doors, claws screeching against the
42:27metal, rocking the whole vehicle. I
42:30forced myself to stay calm, waited for
42:32an opening, and shot again. hit its
42:34belly. The wolf kept attacking.
42:36Suddenly, it leaped up and swiped at the
42:38window gap. Its claw caught my arm,
42:41drawing blood. I gritted my teeth
42:43through the pain, and when it landed, I
42:45aimed for its eye and fired. Direct hit.
42:48The wolf screamed, convulsed, and went
42:50still. I waited 20 minutes to make sure
42:53it was dead, then collapsed in my seat,
42:55shaking all over. My heart was pounding
42:58so hard I could hear it. The scratch on
43:00my arm wasn't deep, but it was bleeding.
43:02I'd won, but this fight slapped the
43:05complacency right out of me. I'd been
43:07getting cocky. Smooth upgrades, great
43:09loot, unlimited energy. I'd started
43:12treating this like a game. I was winning
43:14easily. That wolf reminded me I'm just
43:16an ordinary guy with no combat skills.
43:19One wrong move and I'd be dead. I got
43:22out, grabbed the supply box without
43:24opening it, and carried it back to the
43:26van. I'd open it later when I felt
43:28safer. Then I noticed the wolf's body.
43:30When I reached toward it, the bracelet
43:32asked if I wanted to decompose it. This
43:34really is a game, I muttered and
43:36confirmed. I got 80 units of wolf meat,
43:39green quality. Eating it slowly restores
43:42stamina and mental energy. About 80 lbs
43:45of useful food from one terrifying
43:47encounter. I sat in the van looking at
43:50the empty field, the blood on my arm,
43:52and the meat in my inventory. I made
43:55myself a promise. Never get careless
43:57again. I have to survive and survive
43:59better than anyone else. I sat in the
44:02cool air of my van, letting my heartbeat
44:04settle after the wolf fight. My arm
44:07still stung, but it was time to see what
44:09I'd earned. First, the wolf meat. 80
44:12units of green quality food. I
44:14remembered how upgrading a plain bottle
44:16of water to blue quality had given me a
44:18permanent one to my physical stat. If I
44:21could do the same with the meat, that
44:23would be huge. But before that, I turned
44:25my attention to the supply box I'd
44:27grabbed from under the tree. I wiped off
44:29the dust and blood and noticed a silver
44:31white glow along its edges. Silver rank
44:34box. My risk had paid off. Inside were
44:37three items. Another blue quality energy
44:40core, a green quality handgun called the
44:42shadow blade pistol with a 15 round
44:44magazine, and a white quality
44:46all-purpose seasoning powder with 50
44:48uses. The pistol made my breath catch. A
44:51real gun. In this world of monsters and
44:54desperate survivors, a firearm changes
44:57everything. The crossbow was decent, but
44:59clunky and hard to aim. A handgun meant
45:02I could actually defend myself at close
45:03range. I'd used two talent charges today
45:06already on the vehicle frame and the AC.
45:09Three left. I decided to spend two now
45:12and save the last one for later. I used
45:14my talent on the pistol. The 30% chance
45:16for a two rank jump triggered again. It
45:19leaped from green straight to purple
45:21quality. The Shadow Blade became the
45:23Phantom Pistol, purple quality, equipped
45:26with an advanced silencer, 15 round
45:28magazine, and it regenerates one bullet
45:30per hour, unlimited ammo. Slowly
45:33regenerating, but still, I'd never run
45:36out of bullets. Next, I upgraded one
45:38unit of wolf meat. It jumped one rank to
45:41blue quality, becoming strengthened wolf
45:44meat. The effect. Eating one unit
45:46permanently increases physical stat by
45:49one point. One unit per day. No lifetime
45:51cap. I had 80 units. 80 days of one
45:54physical stat each. My current physical
45:57score was only nine, below the average
45:59adult baseline of 10. But with this
46:02meat, I could push far beyond normal
46:04human limits. Unfortunately, the talent
46:07only upgrades one unit at a time. So, I
46:09need to spend one charge per day on
46:11meat. A small price. The seasoning
46:14powder was a nice bonus, too. 50 uses,
46:16perfect for cooking the wolf meat. I
46:19checked the time for 20 p.m. I'd been
46:21stopped for over an hour. Outside
46:23temperature had climbed to 35°, up 7°
46:27since entering this area just hours ago.
46:30At this rate, the 7-day heat event was
46:32going to become truly deadly. I started
46:35the engine and got moving. The wound on
46:37my arm twinged with every turn of the
46:39wheel, but it kept me sharp. This injury
46:42was worth every drop of blood. I put the
46:45new phantom pistol on the passenger seat
46:47and retired the crossbow to the back.
46:49"Sorry, old friend. Times have changed,"
46:51I joked to myself. Having a real gun
46:54made everything feel different, more
46:56confident, more in control. Over the
46:59next couple hours, supply boxes appeared
47:01way more frequently than before. In
47:03about 20 minutes, I found the first one.
47:06A normal box with frozen dumplings, a
47:08self-heating rice meal, a 12-pack of
47:11cola, and five metal blocks. The cola
47:14and dumplings nearly made me emotional.
47:16Two days of nothing but compressed
47:18biscuits and plain water had killed my
47:20taste buds. Finally, real food and a
47:23cold drink. I promised myself a proper
47:25dinner tonight. Grilled wolf meat with
47:27rice and a can of cola. More boxes kept
47:30coming. By 5:40 p.m., I'd found four in
47:33total. All normal rank, all basic
47:36supplies. But the steady flow was
47:38reassuring. Among everything I
47:40collected, six electronic components,
47:42flour, 12 bottles of water, three glass
47:45pieces, 10 metal blocks, five rubber,
47:48and a cooking utensil set. New materials
47:50were showing up. Glass and electronic
47:53components, probably important for
47:55future crafting. The cooking set turned
47:57out to be literally just pots, bowls,
47:59chopsticks, and a fork. Nothing fancy,
48:02but at least I could cook the wolf meat
48:04now. My inventory was getting tight with
48:06only 10 slots, so I pulled all raw
48:09materials out of storage. They
48:11automatically compressed into small
48:12cube- shaped blocks when removed. Some
48:15kind of built-in compression technology.
48:17Neat. I stacked everything on the back
48:20seat and freed up space for future
48:22finds. Around 5:40, I started looking
48:24for a place to stop for the night. No
48:27buildings or safe zones anywhere, just
48:30endless wilderness with bushes and road.
48:32I picked a spot with good visibility,
48:34parked in the middle of the highway, and
48:36shut off the engine, keeping only the AC
48:39running. I cracked open a cola. The fizz
48:41and the cold hit my throat and washed
48:44away the day's exhaustion. Perfect
48:46temperature check. Inside 24°, outside
48:4940. The sun was setting, but the heat
48:51was still climbing. Worrying. Then
48:54something strange happened. 6:00 passed,
48:56then 6:10, and the system never
48:59announced nighttime. The sky wasn't
49:01going dark like yesterday either. I
49:03could still see the road clearly. I
49:05checked the regional chat. Everyone was
49:07confused. No darkness, no system
49:09warning. Some people guessed tonight
49:11might be safe. Others thought the
49:13beginner phase had handheld us with
49:15warnings, and from now on, the game
49:18would stop telling us when danger was
49:19coming. That second theory felt right to
49:21me. The real survival game was probably
49:24starting now. Fewer hints, less
49:26guidance, more danger. We'd have to
49:28figure things out ourselves. With the
49:30pistol on the passenger seat and plenty
49:32of supplies, I decided to do something I
49:35hadn't done since arriving. Cook a real
49:37meal. I grabbed my gun, checked the
49:39surroundings for monsters, then
49:41collected dry branches from the roadside
49:43bushes. The outside temperature was 40°
49:46and the ground was scorching, but I
49:48didn't care. After 2 days of compressed
49:51biscuits and plain water, I needed this.
49:54I cut the blue quality Wolf meat into
49:56chunks with my tactical knife, seasoned
49:58it with the all-purpose spice powder and
50:00grilled it over the fire. I also
50:02prepared a self-heating rice meal. 30
50:05minutes of sweating in the brutal heat
50:07later, I had perfectly grilled meat,
50:09crispy outside, tender inside, dripping
50:12with juices. I grabbed everything and
50:15escaped back into my air conditioned van
50:17like running out of a sauna. Sitting in
50:19cool 24° comfort eating hot grilled meat
50:22with rice. That contrast made it the
50:25best meal of my life. While eating, I
50:27checked my messages. The tire blueprint
50:29seller had replied. After some
50:31negotiation, we settled on 30 L of fuel
50:34instead of my initial offer of 20. He
50:37also asked if I'd trade fuel with him
50:39again in the future, and I agreed.
50:41Building a reliable trading contact
50:43could be useful. I got the reinforced
50:45off-road tire blueprint, had enough
50:47materials to craft it immediately, and
50:49used my talent right after. It upgraded
50:52one rank to blue quality, heavyduty
50:54blowout proof off-road tires. Immune to
50:57normal punctures and cuts, resistant to
51:00small firearms, reduced heat and cold
51:02effects, plus 30 to speed. I installed
51:05them instantly. My van's top speed
51:07jumped to 150 kmh. The full loadout now
51:11looked impressive. Gold lucky pendant,
51:14blue engine, blue bulletproof glass,
51:16blue alloy frame, blue blowout proof
51:19tires, purple AC, and orange nuclear
51:22reactor. Probably meets the requirements
51:24for a level three upgrade. I just needed
51:26the upgrade blueprint. I also bought the
51:29mini fridge blueprint from another
51:30trader for just 10 L of fuel. The seller
51:33agreed instantly. Nobody else wanted an
51:36item that increases energy consumption
51:38when everyone's desperate for fuel. But
51:40energy meant nothing to me. The fridge
51:42blueprint was white quality. I used my
51:45talent to upgrade it. Jumped one rank to
51:47green, becoming a refrigerated storage
51:50blueprint with 10 storage slots for food
51:52and drinks, costing 10% more energy. I
51:55didn't craft it yet, though. I had a
51:57theory I wanted to test. If I upgrade a
51:59blueprint first, then craft the item.
52:02Can I upgrade the finished product
52:03again? If yes, that would be incredibly
52:06powerful, but I didn't have enough
52:08materials right now, so I saved it for
52:10later. By 8:00 p.m., I'd accomplished
52:12everything I wanted. I sat back, cleaned
52:15my pistol, and waited for nightfall. The
52:18sky still wasn't going dark like
52:19yesterday, and no system warning had
52:21come. Whatever was coming tonight, I was
52:24ready, better armed, better fed, and
52:26better protected than almost anyone else
52:29out there. Night fell and the road
52:31disappeared into total darkness. I could
52:34hear things moving in the bushes. I kept
52:36my pistol close and opened the regional
52:38chat. A friend request popped up from
52:40the player who sold me the tire
52:42blueprint. Her name was Su Wan Wan. I
52:45accepted. Having a reliable trading
52:47partner was valuable. She thanked me for
52:49the trade and I told her I'd buy more
52:51blueprints if she had them. Then she
52:53said something that caught my attention.
52:55She could consistently find blueprints
52:57in her supply boxes. She offered to give
52:59me first pick on all her future
53:01blueprints if I kept trading her fuel.
53:04That was a huge deal. Blueprints were
53:06rare. Less than one in a thousand
53:08players had them to trade. A steady
53:10supply could accelerate my upgrades
53:12massively. I agreed right away. Fuel was
53:15worthless to me with the nuclear
53:17reactor, so trading it for blueprints
53:19was pure profit. After chatting briefly,
53:22I closed the messages. Cooperation was
53:24fine, but I wasn't going to let my guard
53:26down around anyone. Trust is earned
53:28slowly in a death game. By midnight,
53:31nothing had happened. No shaking, no
53:33monsters, no sounds. I was starting to
53:36wonder if tonight was safe when a
53:38frantic private message appeared. Suan
53:40Wan monsters were attacking her car. She
53:43had no weapons. She was begging for
53:45help, offering her next blueprint,
53:47pleading desperately. I hesitated. She
53:50was a stranger I just met through one
53:52trade, risking resources for someone I
53:54didn't know went against every survival
53:56instinct. But she could provide a steady
53:59stream of blueprints. And that green
54:01quality tire design she'd sold me was
54:03genuinely rare. If she died, that source
54:06dried up. I made my decision in seconds.
54:08I grabbed the blue quality crossbow, the
54:11one I'd retired after getting the pistol
54:13and the 10 remaining bolts and traded
54:15them to her for free. No conditions, no
54:18payment. Here's a crossbow. Save your
54:20shots and aim carefully. I sent. That
54:23was all I could do. The rest was up to
54:25her. About 15 minutes later, she
54:27messaged back. She'd killed the monster.
54:30Barely survived, but she made it. She
54:33thanked me over and over, voice messages
54:35full of tears and gratitude. I didn't
54:38think much of it. The crossbow was
54:39collecting dust anyway, and keeping my
54:42blueprint supplier alive was a smart
54:44investment. After that, the night went
54:46quiet. I stayed alert for a while
54:48longer, pistol in hand, but eventually
54:50drifted off to sleep. When I opened my
54:53eyes, daylight had returned. Another
54:55night survived. I woke up at 5:40 a.m.
54:58feeling surprisingly good. No stiff
55:01muscles, no sore back. Despite sleeping
55:03in a car seat, my body felt light and
55:06full of energy, better than any morning
55:08back in my old life. The physical stat
55:11boost was real. I checked my stats.
55:13Physical had climbed from 9 to 10,
55:16thanks to last night's strength and wolf
55:18meat. Finally, at the baseline for a
55:20normal adult male. At this rate, I'd
55:22eventually surpass human limits. I
55:25stepped outside and inspected the van.
55:27Not a scratch. The ground around it was
55:29clean. No blood, no claw marks, no sign
55:33anything had come near me all night.
55:35That was strange. Suan Wan had been
55:38attacked. The regional chat was full of
55:40people describing monster assaults and
55:42the area population dropped by over
55:4510,000 overnight from 90,000 to just
55:48over 80,000. A nearly 10% death rate in
55:51one night. Yet nothing touched my car. I
55:54suspected the gold lucky pendants danger
55:56avoidance effect was protecting me, but
55:58I couldn't be sure. Either way, I wasn't
56:01going to get complacent. The chat was
56:03grim. People were desperate for weapons,
56:05begging for medicine, morning friends
56:08whose profile icons had gone gray.
56:10Someone discovered that green quality
56:12monster meat could heal wounds, which
56:14matched my own experience. The scratch
56:17on my arm from yesterday had completely
56:19healed overnight. In a world with almost
56:21no medicine, monster meat was basically
56:24a healing potion. Then Suan messaged me.
56:27She wanted to return the crossbow I'd
56:29given her last night. I thought about it
56:31for a few seconds. The crossbow was
56:33useless to me, but for her, a regular
56:36person with no combat ability, it was
56:38the difference between life and death.
56:40And if she died, I'd lose my only
56:42reliable blueprint source. This wasn't
56:45charity. It was an investment. I told
56:47her to keep it. she protested, saying it
56:50was too valuable to accept for free. So,
56:52I laid out the terms clearly. The
56:54crossbow was my investment in her
56:56survival. In exchange, she'd give me
56:59first pick on every quality blueprint
57:01she found at fair market price, plus one
57:04bonus blueprint of equal value as
57:06payment for the weapon. She agreed
57:08immediately and promised to contact me
57:10first with every blueprint she opened.
57:12Smart deal for both sides. She gets
57:15protection. I get a steady flow of
57:17blueprints. Everyone wins. By 6:00 a.m.,
57:20the outside temperature was already 32°.
57:23Yesterday, it didn't hit 40 until the
57:26afternoon. The heat event was
57:28accelerating. I started the engine and
57:30got ready to move. Another day of
57:32hunting for supplies, and the clock was
57:34ticking before this world turned into an
57:36oven. By 6:00 in the morning, the
57:38temperature had already hit 35° and was
57:42climbing fast. The ground shimmerred
57:44with heat waves. I was grateful for my
57:46purple quality AC keeping the cabin
57:48cool. I spent the morning hunting for
57:51supply boxes. Found three, one normal,
57:54two bronze level. Mostly basic supplies,
57:57but the real pattern was fuel. Almost
57:59every box gave me fuel. 10, then 20,
58:03then 10 more. Combined with what I had,
58:06that brought me to 40 units of tradable
58:08fuel. At the time, I thought it was
58:10generous. I didn't realize why. Right
58:12around noon, the system dropped a
58:14bombshell. Speed race officially begins.
58:17All participants will face system
58:19spawned hostile units. Attack strength
58:21adjusts dynamically based on vehicle
58:23level and player count. Kill hostiles to
58:26earn special race treasure chests. The
58:28chat exploded with panic. People barely
58:31surviving the heat were now being
58:33hunted. I understood immediately. The
58:36morning fuel drops were preparation. The
58:38system wanted us fueled up so we could
58:40run. Then I checked my rear view mirror.
58:42Five black motorcycles in a wedge
58:44formation, racing toward me at full
58:47speed. The riders wore torn leather
58:49armor and carried chains, steel pipes,
58:52machetes, and Molotov cocktails. Their
58:55faces were twisted and empty, not human,
58:58more like puppets built for killing. The
59:00Molotov cocktails worried me most. I
59:02floored it. At 100 kmh, I pulled away
59:06easily. Their bikes probably maxed out
59:08around 60 to 70, matching a level one
59:11van speed. But I couldn't run forever.
59:14After 2 hours of chase, I decided to
59:16fight. I had 15 bullets in my pistol. My
59:19shooting accuracy was terrible, but I
59:21had to try. I gradually slowed from 100
59:24to 80. The bikes closed in. At around 50
59:27m, they started hurling Molotov
59:29cocktails at my van. The bottles
59:31shattered against the blue quality body
59:33panels and did nothing. Good. The armor
59:36held. When the first bike pulled
59:38alongside me, I steadied my arm, locked
59:40the sights on the rider's chest, and
59:42fired. One shot. He flew off the bike
59:45and tumbled into the bushes. I waited
59:47for the next ones to close in. Two more
59:50pulled up. I fired three quick shots.
59:52Two bikes crashed and flipped. The last
59:55two came together. Two more bullets. One
59:57bike toppled. The other exploded into a
1:00:00fireball. All 15 rounds spent. All five
1:00:03riders down. Speed race cleared. Reward.
1:00:06Special race treasure chest x times 1.
1:00:08The bikes and bodies vanished. A dark
1:00:11gold chest with intricate patterns sat
1:00:13in the middle of the road. I grabbed it,
1:00:15got back in the car, and opened it.
1:00:18Three items inside, all significant. A
1:00:21shooting mastery skill book, green
1:00:23quality. A level one vehicle upgrade
1:00:25blueprint. A duplicate but potentially
1:00:28useful for trading. And a talent
1:00:29fragment, iron rank. I sat there
1:00:32catching my breath. hands still shaking
1:00:34slightly from the adrenaline. 15
1:00:36bullets, five kills, zero wasted. Not
1:00:39bad for an office worker who'd never
1:00:41held a gun before yesterday. I
1:00:43immediately started going through the
1:00:45three rewards from the race chest.
1:00:47First, the shooting mastery skill book.
1:00:50Green quality. I used my talent on it,
1:00:52jumped one rank to blue. The upgraded
1:00:54version permanently grants advanced
1:00:56shooting techniques. Greatly improves
1:00:59accuracy and stability. enhances dynamic
1:01:02visual tracking and adds basic gun
1:01:04maintenance knowledge. I used it without
1:01:06hesitation. The book dissolved into
1:01:09light and flowed into my mind. Suddenly,
1:01:11I had muscle memory I'd never earned.
1:01:14Grip, breathing, aiming, tracking,
1:01:17recoil control. It felt like I'd trained
1:01:19for years. I raised my hand in a mock
1:01:22pistol grip and my arm was rock steady.
1:01:24I could see tiny details at a distance.
1:01:27pebbles, insects, even predict their
1:01:29movement paths. For the first time, I
1:01:32wasn't just a guy holding a powerful
1:01:34gun. I actually knew how to use it.
1:01:36Second item, a level one vehicle upgrade
1:01:38blueprint. Useless to me since I was
1:01:41already level two. But I had an idea.
1:01:43Upgrade it with my talent. The 30% two
1:01:46rank jump triggered again. It leaped
1:01:48from level one straight to a level three
1:01:51upgrade blueprint. The level three
1:01:53blueprint showed requirements for
1:01:54upgrading a level three vehicle to level
1:01:57four. Level three vehicle not yet. Level
1:02:00three engine already met thanks to my
1:02:03blue quality engine. Level three glass
1:02:06met. Level three frame met. And a
1:02:08vehicle core not met. So I had the
1:02:11upgrade blueprint before I even had a
1:02:13level three car. I was missing the level
1:02:15two to three upgrade step and a
1:02:17mysterious vehicle core component.
1:02:20Oddly, neither the level one nor level
1:02:22three upgrade required tire upgrades. I
1:02:25didn't understand why tires weren't part
1:02:27of the vehicle leveling system, but I
1:02:29moved on. Third item, a talent fragment,
1:02:32iron rank. Collecting 10 of these would
1:02:34let me craft a talent upgrade stone.
1:02:37Could my mythical rank talent be pushed
1:02:39even higher? I didn't know, but
1:02:41gathering these fragments just became a
1:02:43long-term goal. It was 2:30 p.m. The
1:02:46race event was still active. I thought
1:02:48about Suan Wan. Could she survive this?
1:02:51I messaged her. She replied after five
1:02:53nerve-wracking minutes. She was alive,
1:02:56but her challenge was completely
1:02:58different from mine. Instead of
1:02:59motorcycle raiders, her section of road
1:03:02had started collapsing, cracks and sink
1:03:04holes opening up behind her, forcing her
1:03:06to keep driving at full speed without
1:03:08stopping. Luckily, she'd found a green
1:03:11quality engine earlier and was
1:03:13maintaining 80 kmh with enough fuel to
1:03:15keep going. Good. My investment was
1:03:18still alive. I told her to message me if
1:03:20anything came up, then closed the chat
1:03:22and leaned back. Three talent charges
1:03:25used today, two remaining. A shooting
1:03:27skill book that transformed me from an
1:03:29amateur to a marksman, a level three
1:03:31upgrade blueprint that leapfrogged my
1:03:33progression, and the first piece of a
1:03:35talent upgrade puzzle. Not a bad hall
1:03:38for one fight. I checked the regional
1:03:40chat to see how others were handling the
1:03:42race event. People were dealing with all
1:03:44kinds of attacks, road collapses, black
1:03:47fog chasing them, wild beast monsters,
1:03:50but nobody mentioned human-shaped
1:03:51enemies or motorcycle squads. That
1:03:54confirmed my suspicion. The system
1:03:56scaled difficulty based on vehicle
1:03:58level. My level two van was probably the
1:04:01best in the region. So, I got the
1:04:02hardest challenge. For the next 2 hours,
1:04:05I drove without finding a single supply
1:04:07box. Completely empty road. Strange, but
1:04:10I kept going. Then near 6:00 p.m.,
1:04:13something appeared on the horizon that
1:04:15I'd never seen before. An actual
1:04:17building. As I got closer, it turned out
1:04:19to be a structure like a bus stop with a
1:04:21metal sign reading supply point. The
1:04:24first system marked location I'd
1:04:26encountered since arriving in this
1:04:27world. Inside were two silver machines,
1:04:30like oversized futuristic vending
1:04:32machines. The left one was labeled
1:04:35resource recycling. It converted
1:04:37unwanted items into points. Metal
1:04:39blocks, rubber, fuel, materials.
1:04:43Everything had a point value. One metal
1:04:45block equaled one point. One unit of
1:04:47fuel equal one point. Green quality
1:04:50materials were worth two points each.
1:04:52The right machine was resource shop. It
1:04:55sold everything from basic water and
1:04:57food to blueprints and upgrade
1:04:59materials. The prices caught my eye
1:05:01immediately. Green quality vehicle part
1:05:03blueprints 50 points each. Level one
1:05:06vehicle upgrade blueprint, 100 points.
1:05:09Level two vehicle upgrade blueprint, 200
1:05:12points. The level two upgrade blueprint
1:05:15was exactly what I needed to push my van
1:05:17to level three. I had to get it. I
1:05:19started dumping everything I could
1:05:21afford to lose into the recycling
1:05:23machine. Food, extra supplies, most of
1:05:26my fuel. I kept only essentials. After
1:05:29selling off everything disposable, I hit
1:05:32165 points. Still 35 points short. I
1:05:35looked at what I had left. My pistol,
1:05:38the fridge blueprint, the tactical
1:05:40knife, an energy core, raw materials, 10
1:05:43units of wolf meat, cooking supplies,
1:05:45water, and 50 units of fuel. The
1:05:48materials I needed for future crafting.
1:05:50The wolf meat for daily stat boosts. The
1:05:53pistol was my lifeline. I stared at the
1:05:55screen, racking my brain for what else I
1:05:57could sacrifice to reach 200 points. I
1:06:00was 35 points short of the level two
1:06:02upgrade blueprint. I looked at the blue
1:06:05quality energy core sitting in my
1:06:06inventory, the spare one from the second
1:06:09silver box. With my nuclear reactor, I'd
1:06:12never need it. I checked its recycling
1:06:14value, 100 points. That would put me at
1:06:16265 total. Enough for the upgrade
1:06:19blueprint, but not much else. Then I had
1:06:22a better idea. Why not upgrade the
1:06:24energy core with my talent first, then
1:06:26sell the improved version? I used rule
1:06:28break on it. It jumped one rank to
1:06:30purple quality. A high energy core that
1:06:33could power a level two to three vehicle
1:06:36for 7 days straight. Impressive, but
1:06:38useless to me with infinite energy.
1:06:41Recycling value 500 points. Five times
1:06:44more than before. Now I had 665 points
1:06:48total. Shopping spree time. I bought
1:06:50everything I needed. the level two
1:06:52vehicle upgrade blueprint for 200
1:06:54points, plus green quality blueprints
1:06:56for a vehicle frame, glass, and engine
1:06:59at 50 each, and another level one
1:07:01upgrade blueprint for 100. That cost 450
1:07:04points. The level two upgrade blueprint
1:07:07showed requirements for going from level
1:07:08two to level three. Everything was
1:07:11already met, engine, glass, frame,
1:07:14except one thing, a vehicle core. same
1:07:18mysterious component, the level three to
1:07:20four upgrade needed. Two vehicle cores
1:07:23and I could jump straight from level two
1:07:25to level four. But I had no idea what a
1:07:27vehicle core was or where to find one.
1:07:30With my remaining 215 points, I stocked
1:07:32up on raw materials. 50 metal blocks, 30
1:07:36plastic, 20 rubber, 19 electronic
1:07:39components, and 20 glass. These would
1:07:41fuel future crafting. I decided to camp
1:07:43at the supply point overnight. seemed
1:07:46safer than open road and maybe other
1:07:48survivors would show up to trade. I had
1:07:50two talent uses left. One went to
1:07:53upgrading a unit of wolf meat for
1:07:54tonight's stat boost. The last one I
1:07:57used to test something I'd been curious
1:07:58about. Could I upgrade a blueprint,
1:08:00craft the item, and then upgrade the
1:08:02finished product, too. I crafted the
1:08:04refrigerated fridge from the green
1:08:06quality blueprint I'd already upgraded
1:08:08earlier, then used my talent on the
1:08:10finished product. The 30% two rank jump
1:08:14triggered. It leaped to purple quality,
1:08:16becoming a smart temperature controlled
1:08:18storage unit. It had a full 5 square
1:08:21meter interior space adjustable from
1:08:23minus 8 to 8° with 40% energy
1:08:26consumption increase. The test was a
1:08:28success. Upgrading a blueprint and then
1:08:31upgrading the crafted product were
1:08:33treated as separate actions. Both
1:08:35worked. This meant my talents value was
1:08:38even greater than I thought. I could
1:08:40double dip on every craftable item. I
1:08:42installed the fridge immediately. With
1:08:44nuclear power, the 40% energy cost meant
1:08:47nothing. The fridge installation was
1:08:49interesting. The bracelet projected a 3D
1:08:52model of my van and let me drag the unit
1:08:54to wherever I wanted. I placed it behind
1:08:57the passenger door for balanced weight.
1:08:59From the outside, it looked like a
1:09:00normal silver box taking up half the
1:09:02rear space, but inside it was a full 5
1:09:05square m, way bigger than the exterior.
1:09:08I loaded it with my 10 units of Green
1:09:10Wolf meat, 12 bottles of water, and the
1:09:13seasoning powder. Finally, cold drinks
1:09:15in this heat. I regretted recycling
1:09:17those colas earlier. The bigger
1:09:19realization excited me more. My talent
1:09:22testing proved that upgrading a
1:09:23blueprint and then upgrading the crafted
1:09:26product both work separately. Any green
1:09:28blueprint that reaches me becomes a
1:09:30purple quality finished product minimum.
1:09:33That's a massive advantage. My priority
1:09:35now was finding vehicle cores. Two of
1:09:38them would let me jump straight to level
1:09:40four. I searched the trading board.
1:09:42Nothing. Not a single vehicle core
1:09:44listed. I posted in the regional chat
1:09:46asking to buy them, but my message got
1:09:48buried in the noise. The chat was
1:09:50chaotic as usual. Another 8,000 people
1:09:53dead. Over 20,000 gone in just 3 days.
1:09:57Some people had found supply points,
1:09:58too, but most couldn't afford the level
1:10:01two upgrade blueprint with their limited
1:10:02resources. That meant others would start
1:10:05catching up to level two soon. and my
1:10:07lead would shrink. I spotted some useful
1:10:09information. Everyone seemed to have
1:10:11encountered a supply point. So, the
1:10:14system was giving all survivors a path
1:10:16forward. Good to know, but it also meant
1:10:18more competition. I prepared dinner.
1:10:20Grilled wolf meat with cold water from
1:10:22the fridge. Used my talent on another
1:10:25unit of wolf meat, upgrading it to blue
1:10:27quality strengthened meat. Only jumped
1:10:30one rank this time. Today, I'd used my
1:10:32talent five times for single rank jumps
1:10:35and only one double. The 30% and 5% odds
1:10:38weren't being kind to me. I ate the
1:10:40strengthened meat and watched my
1:10:42physical stat climb to 11. Noticeably
1:10:44stronger than yesterday. Slow progress,
1:10:47but steady. I was getting ready to sleep
1:10:49when Suan messaged me. She'd seen my
1:10:52post about vehicle cores and offered to
1:10:54keep an eye on the chat for mentions.
1:10:56Good. I couldn't watch the channel all
1:10:58day while driving. I asked her to
1:11:00monitor it for me. Then, just as I was
1:11:02settling in for the night, a trade
1:11:04notification popped up. Suan Wan had
1:11:06sent me two items, a level one vehicle
1:11:09upgrade blueprint and a storage space
1:11:11expansion blueprint, green quality. She
1:11:14was already delivering on her promise.
1:11:16Suan Wan sent me two items, a level one
1:11:19vehicle upgrade blueprint and a storage
1:11:21space expansion blueprint. Green
1:11:23quality. I was genuinely surprised. The
1:11:26upgrade blueprint costs 100 points at
1:11:28the supply station for someone still
1:11:30driving a level one van. That's their
1:11:33most important item. Yet, she sent it to
1:11:35me without hesitation. I checked the
1:11:37storage blueprint. 10 inventory slots
1:11:40requiring 10 metal blocks and 10
1:11:42electronic components. Exactly what I
1:11:45needed. My 10 slot inventory had been a
1:11:47constant headache, forcing me to juggle
1:11:49items every time I opened a box. But I
1:11:52couldn't accept the upgrade blueprint.
1:11:54She needed it more than I did. I told
1:11:56her to keep it for herself and only took
1:11:58the storage blueprint as her promised
1:12:00payment. She was grateful and promised
1:12:03to keep sending blueprints my way. Then
1:12:05I asked the question that had been
1:12:06nagging me. How did she keep finding
1:12:08blueprints when they were so incredibly
1:12:10rare? She hesitated before answering.
1:12:13Her talent was silver rank called divine
1:12:16craftsman scroll. Every day, a supply
1:12:19box randomly appears inside her vehicle,
1:12:22and it always contains a blueprint
1:12:24matching her current stage of the game.
1:12:26That explained everything. A guaranteed
1:12:28daily blueprint. That was an
1:12:30extraordinary talent. In a world where
1:12:32less than one in a thousand players ever
1:12:34see a blueprint, she had a reliable
1:12:36source every single day. I told her the
1:12:39talent was impressive. And to stay safe,
1:12:42I wanted to use my talent on the storage
1:12:43blueprint before crafting it. A higher
1:12:46quality version would give more slots,
1:12:48but I'd already used all five charges
1:12:50today. It could wait until tomorrow.
1:12:52Then I started thinking strategically
1:12:54about Suan Wan. Her talent probably
1:12:57scaled with her vehicle level. Level one
1:12:59van mint green quality blueprints. If
1:13:02she upgraded to level two, would she
1:13:04start getting blue quality ones? Level
1:13:06three purple. Helping her upgrade wasn't
1:13:09just charity. It was an investment in
1:13:11better blueprints for me. I had an even
1:13:13bolder thought. If her talent was tied
1:13:16to vehicle level, what would happen if
1:13:18she abandoned her own van and rode in
1:13:20mine? Would her talent still trigger?
1:13:22And if it did, would the blueprints
1:13:24match my vehicles level instead of hers?
1:13:26That idea needed testing. But first, I
1:13:29had to build trust and find those
1:13:31vehicle cores. I messaged Suan Wan to
1:13:34ask what she still needed to upgrade to
1:13:36level two. She only needed a vehicle
1:13:38frame blueprint. She had everything
1:13:40else. I was surprised she'd gathered so
1:13:42much on her own. I offered her my spare
1:13:45frame blueprint with one condition.
1:13:47Tomorrow's blueprint from her talent
1:13:49goes to me, no matter what quality. She
1:13:52agreed instantly. Shortly after, a
1:13:54private message appeared from a
1:13:56stranger. I have a vehicle core. My
1:13:58heart jumped. I asked what they wanted.
1:14:01Their price, 100 units of fuel, and a
1:14:03level one upgrade blueprint. Way too
1:14:06steep. After some back and forth, we
1:14:08settled on 50 units of fuel plus the
1:14:10level one blueprint. My condition. Tell
1:14:13me where the core came from. The answer
1:14:15chilled me. It was a woman. She'd
1:14:17encountered another player at a supply
1:14:19point, a man who tried something, so she
1:14:21killed him. When the system offered to
1:14:23decompose his vehicle, it produced a
1:14:26vehicle core. So vehicle cores come from
1:14:28destroying other players vehicles. That
1:14:31meant the only reliable source was other
1:14:33people. This game was pushing survivors
1:14:36toward conflict whether they wanted it
1:14:37or not. She also confirmed that players
1:14:40could meet at supply points. The systems
1:14:42promise of encountering others was real.
1:14:45We completed the trade and added each
1:14:47other as friends. Her name was Sue
1:14:49Kersonen. I told her I'd buy more cores
1:14:51if she found them. One core down, one to
1:14:54go for level four. Almost immediately,
1:14:56another person messaged me about a core,
1:14:58but this one wanted far more. A level
1:15:01one and level two upgrade blueprint,
1:15:03plus an AC blueprint. Way too greedy.
1:15:06And the level two blueprint was
1:15:07something I needed myself. I told him I
1:15:10didn't have enough resources and I'd
1:15:12contact him later. He got pushy and
1:15:14aggressive, asking if I was messing with
1:15:16him. His tone felt off, probably not
1:15:19someone I wanted to deal with. I
1:15:20suspected his core also came from
1:15:22killing another player, despite his
1:15:24claim about getting it from a special
1:15:26chest. I ignored his last messages and
1:15:29prepared to rest. What I didn't know was
1:15:31that this refusal had put me on
1:15:32someone's radar. Somewhere out there, a
1:15:35man named Lu Ji Chiang was staring at
1:15:37his screen with murder in his eyes,
1:15:39furious that I'd walked away from his
1:15:41deal. In this world, the monsters
1:15:43weren't the only danger. Some of the
1:15:45survivors were worse. All conditions for
1:15:48the level three upgrade were met. I hit
1:15:50the button without hesitation. The
1:15:52system told me to step away from the
1:15:54vehicle. I got out and watched from the
1:15:56supply point as a blue glow enveloped
1:15:59the van. 10 minutes later, it was done.
1:16:02A brand new silver gray van stood where
1:16:04the old white one had been. I rushed
1:16:06over to check it out. The interior was a
1:16:08massive improvement. Soft, comfortable
1:16:11seats replaced the basic ones. But the
1:16:13best surprise was lighting. LED ceiling
1:16:16lights and wall lamps built into the
1:16:18doors. After two nights of total
1:16:20darkness inside the car, just being able
1:16:23to see at night felt like a luxury. More
1:16:25importantly, I could now spot what was
1:16:27happening outside during nighttime. The
1:16:29dashboard had been replaced by a large
1:16:31touchscreen control panel. When it
1:16:34powered on, a system notification
1:16:36appeared, map function unlocked,
1:16:38real-time display of terrain, obstacles,
1:16:41and supply boxes within 10 m. 10 m
1:16:44wasn't huge, but it meant I'd no longer
1:16:47need to constantly scan the roadside
1:16:48with my eyes. Supply boxes would show up
1:16:51automatically on the screen. A game
1:16:53changer for efficient scavenging. The
1:16:56full stats. Level three van. Top speed
1:16:59180 km per hour. All my existing
1:17:02equipment carried over. The gold lucky
1:17:04pendant, blue engine, bulletproof glass,
1:17:07alloy frame, blowoutp proof tires,
1:17:10orange nuclear reactor, and purple
1:17:12fridge. The main gains were the speed
1:17:14boost, lighting, and the map feature. I
1:17:17was tired. I reclined the seat and fell
1:17:19asleep. For the second night in a row,
1:17:22nothing attacked me. I slept straight
1:17:24through until 5:30 a.m. The lucky
1:17:26pennants danger avoidance was clearly
1:17:28doing heavy work, but I realized the
1:17:31downside. No monster attacks meant no
1:17:33monster drops. No meat for stat
1:17:35upgrades. I might need to start hunting
1:17:37monsters on purpose. I messaged Su want
1:17:40to check on her. She'd successfully
1:17:42upgraded to level two and had a quiet
1:17:44night, too. Heard some noises, but
1:17:46nothing attacked. Good news. I reminded
1:17:49her to send me whatever blueprint her
1:17:51talent produced today. She was already
1:17:53level two now, so there was a chance her
1:17:55daily blueprint would be higher quality
1:17:57than before. My next goal was clear.
1:17:59Find the second vehicle core and push to
1:18:02level four. I set off at dawn. The
1:18:04outside temperature was already 32° and
1:18:07climbing fast. I wondered how many
1:18:09people without AC would survive this. At
1:18:12the supply point, the AC blueprint
1:18:14wasn't cheap. Most survivors probably
1:18:16had to choose between air conditioning
1:18:18and vehicle upgrades. A brutal choice
1:18:21either way. The level three map feature
1:18:23made searching much easier. Instead of
1:18:25straining my eyes at the roadside,
1:18:27supply boxes now showed up as yellow
1:18:30dots on the screen. Around 9:00 a.m.,
1:18:32the first yellow dot appeared. A normal
1:18:35supply box in the roadside grass, five
1:18:37bottles of water, three metal blocks,
1:18:40and a kitchen knife. Basic stuff. But
1:18:42now I knew yellow dots meant supply
1:18:44boxes. By 11:30, a second do that led me
1:18:47to a bronze box, five cans of yellow
1:18:50peach, five electronic components for
1:18:53energy drinks, and a green quality tank
1:18:55sword. Both boxes today had given me
1:18:58weapons. The game was clearly pushing
1:19:00everyone to arm up. The temperature
1:19:02outside hit 43°. Just stepping out for 5
1:19:06minutes left me drenched in sweat. Day
1:19:08three of seven, and it was already
1:19:10nearly unbearable. Anyone without air
1:19:13conditioning was in serious trouble.
1:19:15After a short rest, I drove on. Less
1:19:18than a kilometer later, I reached a fork
1:19:20in the road. Right in the middle sat a
1:19:22beaten up van. The same starter vehicle
1:19:24everyone gets. Its doors were hanging
1:19:27open. No people, no monsters, no
1:19:30movement. I checked the map display.
1:19:32Nothing unusual within 10 m. I got out
1:19:35carefully and approached. The moment I
1:19:37got close, my bracelet chimed. Ownerless
1:19:40vehicle detected. Decompose. My heart
1:19:43nearly jumped out of my chest. I hit
1:19:45confirm without a second thought.
1:19:47Decomposition complete. Obtained.
1:19:50Vehicle core times 1. The second core.
1:19:53Just like that. Someone had either died
1:19:55or abandoned their vehicle, and I
1:19:57stumbled right onto it. All my
1:19:59searching, trading, and worrying, and
1:20:01the answer was sitting at a random
1:20:03crossroads. The temperature had climbed
1:20:05to 45°. I rushed back to my van, shut
1:20:09the door, and let the cool air wash over
1:20:11me. I had both vehicle cores now. Level
1:20:14four was within reach. I didn't expect
1:20:16to get the second core so fast. With
1:20:18both cores in hand, I checked the level
1:20:21four upgrade requirements. Everything
1:20:23was met. Level three vehicle, engine,
1:20:26glass, frame, and core. But then the
1:20:29system added a surprise. I needed to
1:20:31feed in raw materials, and the amount
1:20:34would determine the final vehicle
1:20:35quality. Maximum inputs, 50 metal
1:20:38blocks, 30 of everything else. I checked
1:20:41my stock. Close but short on glass and
1:20:43rubber. I messaged Suan first, but she'd
1:20:46just used most of her materials,
1:20:48upgrading to level two. Only scraps
1:20:51left. Then I contacted Sue Kersonen, the
1:20:53woman who'd sold me the first core. She
1:20:56had what I needed, seven glass and three
1:20:58rubber in exchange for metal blocks.
1:21:01Deal done. I maxed out every material
1:21:03slot and hit upgrade. Level four upgrade
1:21:06in progress. Estimated time 30 minutes.
1:21:09Please move away from the vehicle. I
1:21:11stepped out into the scorching heat and
1:21:13watched the blue glow wrap around my
1:21:15silver van. When it faded, a completely
1:21:18different vehicle stood in its place. A
1:21:20full-sized RV 6 m long, 2 and 1/2 wide,
1:21:253 m tall. Silver white with smooth
1:21:28rounded lines, but a tough look like a
1:21:30small mobile house. I walked up to it
1:21:33and couldn't find a door handle. When I
1:21:35touched the door panel, it slid open
1:21:37automatically. Smart recognition.
1:21:40Inside, cold air hit me immediately. The
1:21:42space was incredible. Up front, a huge
1:21:45touchscreen dashboard, and two rotating
1:21:48captain's chairs with overhead storage.
1:21:50Behind that, a double sofa with a small
1:21:53coffee table, a bathroom, and a compact
1:21:56but fully equipped kitchen with a sink,
1:21:58cabinets, and my purple fridge already
1:22:00integrated. At the very back, a real
1:22:03bed, an actual bed. After three nights
1:22:05sleeping upright in a car seat, I almost
1:22:08wanted to cry. The whole thing felt like
1:22:10stepping back into the modern world,
1:22:12minus running water. I checked the
1:22:14stats. Level four RV, top speed, 200
1:22:18kmph. All my existing equipment carried
1:22:21over. The only new feature was a note
1:22:23saying level four vehicles can mount
1:22:25weapon attachments. Honestly, the stat
1:22:28sheet was underwhelming. Just 20 more
1:22:30km/h, and the weapon mount option. But
1:22:33the living space upgrade was
1:22:35transformative. A bed, a bathroom, a
1:22:38kitchen, full lighting, panoramic
1:22:40windows with automatic curtains. This
1:22:42wasn't just a vehicle anymore. It was a
1:22:45home. I was still exploring my new RV
1:22:47when the bracelet buzzed with three
1:22:49global announcements that everyone could
1:22:51see. First, a player had upgraded to a
1:22:54level four vehicle, unlocking a regional
1:22:56vehicle ranking board, showing the top
1:22:5960,000 players. Second, the survival
1:23:02game was entering phase 2 with increased
1:23:04danger. Third, the system would receive
1:23:07major updates that players needed to
1:23:09figure out on their own. The ranking
1:23:11board immediately asked if I wanted to
1:23:13hide my name since I was ranked first. I
1:23:15hit hide without thinking twice. Fame in
1:23:18a death game is a target on your back.
1:23:20But I'd been a fraction too late. Plenty
1:23:22of people had already seen my name
1:23:24before I hit it. I looked at the
1:23:26rankings. The gap was absurd. My score
1:23:2911,240
1:23:30points. Second place, someone named Lynn
1:23:33Shun had 141. Third place, Sophia had
1:23:38132. The entire top 10 were level two
1:23:41vehicles with scores between 111 and
1:23:44141. I figured out the scoring system.
1:23:47Orange quality equipment gives 10,000
1:23:50points. Gold gives 1,000. Purple gives
1:23:53100. Blue gives 10. My nuclear reactor
1:23:56alone was worth 10,000. The gold lucky
1:23:59pendant added 1,000. And my two purple
1:24:01items contributed 200. All my blue
1:24:04equipment made up the rest. Everyone
1:24:06else only had green and blue gear at
1:24:08best. I was an arrow ahead of the
1:24:11competition. Not just ahead, in a
1:24:13completely different league. I didn't
1:24:15check the world chat, but it had
1:24:16apparently exploded. People were calling
1:24:19me a cheater, begging to team up,
1:24:21offering themselves as companions. Some
1:24:23couldn't believe the score gap. A few
1:24:25pointed out the real concern. Phase 2
1:24:28meant greater danger, and most people
1:24:30were still struggling with the heat.
1:24:32Since I'd never posted in the world
1:24:33channel and had disabled private
1:24:35messages from non-friend after the
1:24:37incident with Lu Ji Jang, nobody could
1:24:39reach me. Even the people who' caught my
1:24:42name before I hit it had no way to
1:24:43contact me. I was more focused on the
1:24:45system updates. The phase 2 announcement
1:24:48and the note about weapon attachments
1:24:50for level four vehicles meant I needed
1:24:52to find vehicle- mounted weapons soon.
1:24:54With increased danger coming, having
1:24:56offensive capability on the RV itself
1:24:59would be critical. The comfortable new
1:25:01home was nice, but comfort wouldn't save
1:25:03me in phase 2. I needed firepower. I
1:25:06glanced at the chat and saw everyone
1:25:08talking about me, the mysterious first
1:25:11place player. I smiled briefly, then
1:25:13closed it. That abandoned starter van
1:25:15I'd found earlier was a reminder. People
1:25:18were dying every day. Being first meant
1:25:20nothing if I couldn't stay alive. It was
1:25:22almost 300 p.m. I thought back to this
1:25:25morning's supply boxes. Both had
1:25:27contained weapons, a kitchen knife and a
1:25:29green quality tank sword. I checked the
1:25:32trading board and confirmed my
1:25:33suspicion. Cold weapons were flooding
1:25:36the market now. The system was arming
1:25:38everyone, but still no guns, crossbows,
1:25:41or any ranged weapons. Those remained
1:25:43extremely rare. This worried me. More
1:25:46weapons in circulation meant players
1:25:48would eventually start attacking each
1:25:50other for resources. Monsters weren't
1:25:52the only threat anymore. human greed
1:25:55would become just as dangerous. I leaned
1:25:57back and did an honest assessment of
1:25:59where I stood. Strengths: Level 4 RV,
1:26:02the only one in the region. Top speed
1:26:05200 km perph, unlimited energy,
1:26:08comfortable living space. Weapon mount
1:26:10capability unlocked. A purple quality
1:26:13pistol with unlimited ammo and real
1:26:15shooting skills to back it up.
1:26:17Weaknesses, four of them, all serious.
1:26:20First, the RV is a bigger target, more
1:26:23visible, harder to hide. If monsters or
1:26:26hostile players attacked, I'd be easy to
1:26:28spot. Second, no vehicle- mounted
1:26:31weapons yet. The level four upgrade
1:26:33unlocked weapon slots, but I had nothing
1:26:35to put in them. Third, and this one hit
1:26:38me hard, water. I had 14 bottles left,
1:26:41enough for drinking, but nowhere near
1:26:43enough for everything else. The RV had a
1:26:46full kitchen with a sink, a bathroom
1:26:48with a shower, but none of it worked
1:26:50without a water supply. After 3 days of
1:26:52sweating through 40 plus degree heat, I
1:26:55was covered in dried salt and grime. The
1:26:57idea of a shower was almost painful in
1:26:59how badly I wanted one. Fourth, my
1:27:02personal combat ability was still weak.
1:27:04The shooting skill book helped, but I
1:27:06was still just an office worker with a
1:27:08physical stat of 11. Against serious
1:27:11threats, I needed to keep improving.
1:27:13Vehicle level is fine, but defense,
1:27:16weapons, water, and my own strength. All
1:27:19four need work, I told myself. I'd
1:27:21emptied nearly all my resources building
1:27:23the level 4 RV. Materials were gone.
1:27:27Trading stock was low. Phase 2 had just
1:27:29started with promises of greater danger.
1:27:31I couldn't sit around admiring my new
1:27:33home. I got behind the wheel and headed
1:27:36out. Time to find supply boxes and
1:27:38rebuild from scratch. It was 300 p.m.
1:27:41with about 4 hours until dark. I took
1:27:43the left fork at the crossroads and kept
1:27:46driving. The lucky pendant didn't react
1:27:48this time. Maybe both paths were equally
1:27:50fine. 30 minutes later, a yellow dot
1:27:53appeared on my map. Through the window,
1:27:55I could see the supply box half hidden
1:27:57in tall grass, but a bright green snake
1:28:00was coiled right next to it. About half
1:28:02a meter long triangular head, scales
1:28:05glinting in the sunlight. So now
1:28:07monsters were showing up next to
1:28:09roadside supply boxes. Phase 2 was
1:28:11already changing the rules. I grabbed my
1:28:14pistol, opened a side window, and aimed
1:28:16at the snake's head from about 200 m
1:28:18away. One shot, perfect hit. The
1:28:21shooting mastery skill was incredible.
1:28:23My hands didn't shake at all, and the
1:28:26accuracy felt almost supernatural. I
1:28:28went out, decomposed the snake's body,
1:28:31and got two units of white quality snake
1:28:33meat. Basic stuff only good for
1:28:35restoring a little stamina after
1:28:37cooking. Then I opened the box. Dried
1:28:40noodles, fermented tofu, five metal
1:28:42blocks, and corn seeds. Seeds. The
1:28:45survival game wanted us to farm. I
1:28:47didn't dwell on it. 40 minutes later,
1:28:50another yellow dot. This time, something
1:28:52much more disturbing was crouching next
1:28:54to the box. A humanoid creature about 1
1:28:57meter tall, hunched over with gray black
1:28:59wrinkled skin like dried bark, stubby
1:29:02but muscular limbs, sharp claws, and
1:29:05blood red eyes. It looked like a goblin
1:29:07from a fantasy movie. Another head shot.
1:29:10One bullet, instant kill. But when I
1:29:12tried to decompose the body, the system
1:29:14refused. Mutant body detected. Cannot be
1:29:17decomposed. So not all monsters drop
1:29:20useful materials. The box was iron rank,
1:29:23eight electronic components, six rubber,
1:29:25tomato seeds, and a green quality bow
1:29:28and arrows. Another ranged weapon, but
1:29:30useless to me with my pistol. It was 510
1:29:33p.m. 45° outside. The third day of the
1:29:37heat event, and the temperature was
1:29:38holding steady at deadly levels. I sat
1:29:41in the driver's seat, thinking, "Every
1:29:43supply box now had a monster guarding
1:29:45it. Without my gun and shooting skills,
1:29:48I'd have to fight these things up close
1:29:49in 45°ree heat. How many people could
1:29:52survive that? The help requests in the
1:29:54chat never stopped. The population
1:29:57counter kept dropping, but there was
1:29:58nothing I could do for anyone else.
1:30:00Everyone started on the same line. I
1:30:03just got luckier with my talent. This is
1:30:05real. I told myself I have to make it to
1:30:07the end for myself and for my parents. I
1:30:10shook off the heavy feelings and decided
1:30:12to treat myself to a proper meal. For
1:30:15the first time, I used the RV's kitchen.
1:30:17No running water, but bottled water
1:30:19worked fine. I boiled noodles with snake
1:30:22meat and seasoning, then grilled a piece
1:30:24of wolf meat on the side. Upgraded to
1:30:27blue quality with my talent first, of
1:30:29course. Still only a one rank jump. I
1:30:32was starting to wonder if I'd ever
1:30:33trigger a higher one on meat. Sitting on
1:30:35the sofa at 24°, eating hot noodle soup
1:30:39with grilled meat and fermented tofu
1:30:41while the world outside roasted at 45°.
1:30:44The contrast was surreal. This simple
1:30:47meal did more for my mental state than
1:30:49anything else. The stress and pressure
1:30:51of the past 3 days melted away a little.
1:30:54After cleaning up, my bracelet buzz.
1:30:56Suan Wan had sent a trade, a green
1:30:59quality metal armor plate blueprint, a
1:31:01vehicle defense upgrade. Exactly what I
1:31:04needed. her talent had delivered again.
1:31:06She messaged excitedly that she could
1:31:08vaguely sense her talents pattern and
1:31:10believed a blue quality blueprint would
1:31:12come within a day or two. When I asked
1:31:14if her talent description explained
1:31:16this, she said no. It was just a feeling
1:31:18she had. She also mentioned she was
1:31:21running low on crossbow bolts, only
1:31:23three left since every supply box now
1:31:25had monsters guarding it. I didn't have
1:31:27spare bolts, but told her I'd send some
1:31:30if I found any. With dinner done and the
1:31:32new blueprint secured, I had four talent
1:31:34uses remaining. Time to make them count.
1:31:37I upgraded the Tang Sword. Jumped two
1:31:40ranks to purple, becoming the
1:31:42armor-piercing tang blade. It could now
1:31:44ignore part of an enemy's defense. Great
1:31:47melee weapon. The bow also jumped two
1:31:49ranks to purple cloud-piercing bow with
1:31:52faster arrows and a lock-on effect that
1:31:55autocorrects aim within 1 meter. Perfect
1:31:58gift for Su Wan Wan to replace her
1:32:00dwindling crossbow bolts. The storage
1:32:02space expansion blueprint went up one
1:32:05rank to blue 20 inventory slots instead
1:32:08of 10, but needed 20 metal blocks and 20
1:32:11electronic components to craft. The
1:32:13metal armor plate blueprint also rose
1:32:15one rank to blue, becoming an alloy
1:32:18armor blueprint that could withstand
1:32:20small firearms. It required 50 metal
1:32:23blocks, expensive, but vehicle defense
1:32:25was critical. Two purple weapons, two
1:32:28blue blueprints. For talent charges,
1:32:30well spent, I put everything away and
1:32:32sat on the sofa, feeling a bit
1:32:34frustrated. Both weapons had jumped to
1:32:37purple quality, amazing stats, but
1:32:39practically useless to me. The
1:32:41armor-piercing tang blade was a melee
1:32:43weapon, and I was an office worker, not
1:32:46a swordsman. The cloud-piercing bow had
1:32:48no arrows. Meanwhile, the two blueprints
1:32:51I actually needed only jumped one rank
1:32:53each, and I didn't have enough materials
1:32:55to craft either one. I pulled out the
1:32:57tang blade just to look at it. About a
1:32:59meter long, dark silver, matte finish,
1:33:02beautiful weapon. Every guy has a
1:33:04martial arts fantasy, but in my hands,
1:33:07it was just decoration. I put it back.
1:33:09By 7:10 p.m., the sky was darkening. I
1:33:12lay down on the bed at the back of the
1:33:14RV, a real bed for the first time. The
1:33:17softness was heavenly. After nights of
1:33:19sleeping upright in a car seat, I
1:33:21drifted off quickly. Scratching sounds
1:33:23woke me at 10:31 p.m. Something was
1:33:26outside, claws scraping against the
1:33:29ground. I crept to the driver's seat and
1:33:31peered through the windows. Pitch black,
1:33:33couldn't see a thing. I sat there for an
1:33:36hour listening. The sounds kept getting
1:33:38closer. I couldn't wait any longer. If
1:33:40they reached the RV, shooting through
1:33:42windows would be nearly impossible at
1:33:44close range. And I wasn't sure the blue
1:33:47quality body panels could withstand a
1:33:49real assault. I flipped on every light
1:33:52interior and exterior. White beams cut
1:33:54through the darkness, illuminating
1:33:56everything within 10 m. My blood went
1:33:59cold. About 20 m ahead, roughly 10
1:34:02doglike monsters were gathered in a
1:34:04semicircle. Bigger than normal dogs,
1:34:07patchy fur caked with mud, gray blue
1:34:09skin, drool hanging from exposed fangs.
1:34:13Their eyes glowed green in the light,
1:34:15all locked on the RV. The moment the
1:34:17lights hit them, the leader snarled, and
1:34:20they all tensed to attack. I didn't
1:34:22hesitate, opened the side window, raised
1:34:24my pistol, and fired. Shot after shot,
1:34:27each one a clean headsh shot. Within a
1:34:29minute, all 10 were down before they
1:34:32could reach the vehicle. I slumped back,
1:34:34drenched in sweat, breathing hard. Then
1:34:37boom, the whole RV shuddered. Something
1:34:40hit the back of the vehicle. I rushed to
1:34:42the middle section and looked through
1:34:43the glass. A massive version of the same
1:34:46creature, nearly 2 m tall, was ramming
1:34:49the rear of the RV. I opened a window
1:34:52and emptied my remaining five bullets
1:34:54into its head. It finally collapsed. 15
1:34:57bullets total, all gone. The pistol
1:35:00regenerates one per hour, so I was
1:35:02defenseless until morning. I collapsed
1:35:04onto the sofa, completely spent, staring
1:35:07at the ceiling, hoping nothing else was
1:35:09out there. It was almost midnight, the
1:35:12most dangerous hour. My gun was empty,
1:35:14but I needed to check the RV for damage
1:35:16before anything else happened. I pulled
1:35:18out the armor-piercing tang blade, the
1:35:20weapon I'd laughed at hours ago for
1:35:22being useless to an office worker.
1:35:24"Didn't think I'd need you this soon," I
1:35:26muttered. I stepped outside into hot air
1:35:29thick with the smell of blood. Tin dead
1:35:31monsters lay scattered around the front.
1:35:33I walked straight to the rear where the
1:35:35big one had been ramming. The damage
1:35:37made my stomach drop. A deep dent in the
1:35:40hole, paint stripped off, metal warped,
1:35:42claw marks gouged into the surface. A
1:35:45few more minutes of that and the blue
1:35:47quality body would have been torn open,
1:35:49and then I'd be dead. I walked over to
1:35:51the giant monster's body to try
1:35:53decomposing it. 2 m tall, muscular, five
1:35:56bullet holes in its head, clearly dead.
1:35:59I reached down to touch it. Its head
1:36:01snapped up, green eyes blazing with
1:36:03rage, jaws wide open, fangs lunging
1:36:06straight at my face. It had been playing
1:36:08dead. Pure instinct saved me. I threw
1:36:11myself backward. Its fangs missed my
1:36:13face, but rad across my shoulder,
1:36:16tearing through my clothes and deep into
1:36:18the flesh. Blood sprayed everywhere. The
1:36:21pain was blinding. I stumbled back
1:36:23against the RV, nowhere left to run.
1:36:25Blood pouring down my arm, hands
1:36:28shaking, hearts slamming against my
1:36:30ribs. The monster rose to its full
1:36:32height, towering over me, growling, eyes
1:36:36locked on me like I was already food. It
1:36:38lunged, massive claws swinging at my
1:36:41head. Something took over. Not courage,
1:36:43just survival instinct. I dodged
1:36:46sideways, gripped the tang blade with
1:36:48both hands, despite the screaming pain
1:36:50in my shoulder, and drove it upward into
1:36:52the creature's throat with everything I
1:36:54had. The purple quality blade slid in
1:36:57like the monster was made of paper. The
1:36:59armor-piercing effect wasn't just a
1:37:01label. The creature thrashed violently,
1:37:04claws raking the RV's exterior,
1:37:06shrieking in agony. I held the blade in
1:37:09with all my strength, teeth clenched,
1:37:11blood, mine, and the monsters, soaking
1:37:14my entire body. A few seconds later, it
1:37:17went rigid and crashed to the ground.
1:37:19Dead for real this time. I let go of the
1:37:22blade and slid down the side of the RV
1:37:24to the ground, pressing my hand against
1:37:26my bleeding shoulder, shaking
1:37:28uncontrollably. One second slower, and
1:37:31those fangs would have taken my head
1:37:32off. I was slumped against the RV,
1:37:35bleeding badly, shoulder torn open. Then
1:37:38I saw the time, 2359.
1:37:411 minute until midnight when my talent
1:37:43charges would reset. I forced myself up
1:37:45and touched the giant monster's body
1:37:47before time ran out. Leader class body
1:37:50detected. Decompose. Yes. I got 30 units
1:37:53of blue quality dog meat. No time to
1:37:56examine it. I stumbled back inside and
1:37:58collapsed. The shoulder wound was ugly.
1:38:01Skin torn open. pain shooting through me
1:38:04with every movement. I checked the meat
1:38:06stats. Blue quality, one permanent
1:38:09physical stat per unit. Same as the wolf
1:38:11meat. I had 30 units now, which was
1:38:14great, but right now I needed something
1:38:16more. Then midnight struck. My five
1:38:19daily talent charges refreshed. Without
1:38:21hesitation, I used one on a unit of the
1:38:24blue dog meat. It jumped two ranks to
1:38:26gold quality. The description nearly
1:38:29stopped my heart. Gold quality dog meat
1:38:32effect permanently increases physical
1:38:34stat by 100. Contains violent and pure
1:38:37life transformation energy.
1:38:39Effectiveness decreases with repeated
1:38:41use 100 points. In a world where peak
1:38:44human physical stat is 20, one piece of
1:38:47meat would give me 100. This wasn't an
1:38:50upgrade. This was evolution. My hands
1:38:53were shaking, not from pain anymore, but
1:38:55from shock. I dragged myself to the
1:38:57kitchen, cooked the meat as fast as I
1:38:59could, and ate it before it was even
1:39:01fully done. The moment I swallowed,
1:39:04warmth flooded my entire body. Then it
1:39:06turned violent. Energy exploded from my
1:39:09core like a volcano, slamming into every
1:39:12cell, every bone, every blood vessel. It
1:39:15felt like being thrown into a furnace
1:39:17while being stabbed by a thousand
1:39:19needles simultaneously. My shoulder
1:39:21wound stopped bleeding. Right before my
1:39:24eyes, the torn flesh began closing,
1:39:26scabbing over, healing at impossible
1:39:29speed. Strength surged through me in
1:39:31waves. The pain was replaced by an
1:39:34overwhelming tingling sensation. But the
1:39:36energy was too much, far beyond what my
1:39:39mind could handle. My vision went dark.
1:39:41I hit the floor. The last thing I felt
1:39:43was my body changing in ways no normal
1:39:46human ever could. A faint golden light
1:39:49seeped from my skin as I lay unconscious
1:39:51on the RV floor, transforming in silence
1:39:54while the world outside slept. I woke up
1:39:57on the RV floor at 8:45 a.m. Over 8
1:40:00hours of the deepest sleep I'd had since
1:40:03entering this world. The first thing I
1:40:05noticed, no pain. My shoulder, the one
1:40:08ripped open by monster fangs just hours
1:40:10ago, was completely healed. Not even a
1:40:13scar. The skin was smooth, tight, and
1:40:16somehow even finer than before. I stood
1:40:18up and went to the bathroom mirror. The
1:40:20person staring back at me was
1:40:22unrecognizable. Gone was the pale,
1:40:25slightly soft worker with tired eyes. In
1:40:28his place stood someone with a lean,
1:40:30defined physique. Muscles visible, but
1:40:33not bulky, perfectly proportioned, like
1:40:35an athlete in peak condition. My face
1:40:38had changed, too. The fine lines around
1:40:40my eyes had vanished. My skin was clear
1:40:42and bright. My gaze sharp and alert. I
1:40:45looked 10 years younger, like I was 18
1:40:48or 19 again. This is what 100 physical
1:40:50stat does. Not just stronger, completely
1:40:53reborn. I check my stats. Physical 112.
1:40:58Mental 20. That had jumped to peak human
1:41:00level two. A bonus I hadn't expected.
1:41:03Plus my shooting mastery skill. I
1:41:05cleaned myself up with a bottle of
1:41:07water. My clothes were destroyed. caked
1:41:09in dried monster blood and my own. After
1:41:12wiping down, all I had left to wear was
1:41:15a pair of shorts. Not glamorous, but at
1:41:17least I was clean. I sat in the driver's
1:41:20seat and thought about what I still
1:41:21needed. First, water. Only 10 bottles
1:41:24left with no water source. Even a
1:41:27superhuman body would eventually fail. 2
1:41:29days, maybe before I ran dry completely.
1:41:33Second, close combat training. Last
1:41:35night, I survived the giant monster
1:41:37through pure luck and a sharp blade, not
1:41:39skill. With 112 physical stat, my
1:41:42strength, speed, and reflexes were far
1:41:45beyond human limits. But raw power
1:41:48without technique was wasteful and
1:41:49dangerous. I needed to learn how to
1:41:51fight properly. Third, the alloy armor
1:41:54blueprint. If I'd had armor installed
1:41:56last night, I wouldn't have needed to go
1:41:58outside and nearly die. I had the blue
1:42:01quality blueprint, but needed 50 metal
1:42:03blocks to craft it. Finding materials
1:42:05was urgent. I went outside to check on
1:42:08last night's battlefield, hoping to
1:42:10decompose the 10 smaller monster bodies
1:42:12for materials and trading points. They
1:42:14were gone. Every single one. No corpses,
1:42:17no blood stains, nothing. The ground was
1:42:20spotless, as if the fight never
1:42:22happened. I was furious. Those bodies
1:42:25could have been worth hundreds of points
1:42:26at a supply station, but there was no
1:42:28use crying over it. The most important
1:42:31reward, the gold meat that transformed
1:42:33my body, was already inside me. I took a
1:42:36deep breath, started the engine, and
1:42:38drove forward. A new day, a new body,
1:42:41and a long list of problems still to
1:42:43solve. I drove for about 20 minutes
1:42:45without finding any supply boxes. The
1:42:48trading board was the same as always,
1:42:50mostly food, water, and basic melee
1:42:53weapons. No blueprints worth buying.
1:42:55Then a message from Sue Kersonen popped
1:42:57up. Short and direct. I have a team
1:43:00scroll. Help me. And it's yours. I check
1:43:03the item description immediately. A team
1:43:05scroll is a special item that lets you
1:43:07invite another player to join your team.
1:43:09Once accepted, the other person along
1:43:12with their vehicle gets teleported to
1:43:14your location, even across regions. In a
1:43:17world where you can drive for days
1:43:18without seeing another person, that kind
1:43:21of item was priceless. She needed a
1:43:23weapon, preferably ranged. I went
1:43:25through my inventory. The phantom pistol
1:43:27was off limits, my most critical weapon.
1:43:30The armor-piercing tang blade had just
1:43:32saved my life and would be essential for
1:43:34close combat now that my physical stat
1:43:37was 112. That left the cloud-piercing
1:43:40bow, purple quality, autocorrecting aim,
1:43:43but I had no arrows for it. I offered
1:43:45her a choice between the blade and the
1:43:47bow. She picked the bow instantly. She
1:43:50already had arrows. Trade completed. The
1:43:52team scroll appeared in my inventory.
1:43:55Sitting back, I couldn't help thinking
1:43:57about what this scroll meant. The
1:43:58ability to bring someone directly to my
1:44:01side with their vehicle. One person kept
1:44:03coming to mind. Suan Wan. Her talent
1:44:06produced a blueprint every single day.
1:44:08She'd already given me tire blueprints,
1:44:11storage expansion blueprints, armor
1:44:13blueprints, every one of them exactly
1:44:15what I needed. If she was physically
1:44:17with me, the efficiency would be
1:44:19incredible. No more waiting for trades.
1:44:22No more delayed deliveries. Daily
1:44:24blueprints fed directly into my upgrade
1:44:26pipeline. But I held back. Trust takes
1:44:29time to build. I didn't know if she'd
1:44:31even want to team up, and I wasn't ready
1:44:33to gamble on someone I'd only known for
1:44:35a few days through text messages. The
1:44:38scroll stayed in my inventory. Not yet,
1:44:40but soon, maybe. My senses were
1:44:42incredible now. Driving along, I could
1:44:45pick up the tiniest movements in distant
1:44:47grass, spot individual pebbles on the
1:44:50road. Everything was sharper, clearer,
1:44:52faster. Half an hour in, a supply box
1:44:55appeared on the roadside with a mutant
1:44:57creature guarding it. Instead of
1:44:59reaching for my gun, I pulled out the
1:45:01armor-piercing tang blade. I stepped out
1:45:04of the RV, shirtless, wearing nothing
1:45:06but shorts, and walked straight toward
1:45:08the monster. When it lunged at me,
1:45:11everything seemed to move in slow
1:45:12motion. I sidestepped casually and swung
1:45:15the blade once. It cut through the
1:45:17creature's neck like slicing tofu. The
1:45:20whole fight took less than 3 seconds. I
1:45:22stood there looking at my hands, then at
1:45:25the two halves of the monster on the
1:45:26ground. This is what 112 physical stat
1:45:29feels like. The creature that would have
1:45:31terrified me 2 days ago was now easier
1:45:33to kill than chopping vegetables. The
1:45:36box gave me five bottles of water, five
1:45:38glass, and 10 fuel. The mutant body
1:45:41couldn't be decomposed. Same as before,
1:45:44I moved on. By 11:30, the outside
1:45:46temperature had hit 46°.
1:45:49Another box appeared, this time guarded
1:45:51by two mutants. I got out with the blade
1:45:54again. The first one lunged. I
1:45:56sidestepped and cut it clean in half
1:45:58with one horizontal swing. The second
1:46:00attacked from behind without even
1:46:02turning around. I reversed my grip and
1:46:05stabbed backward through its skull. 5
1:46:07seconds, both dead. The bronze box
1:46:10contained 10 metal blocks, five
1:46:12electronic components, a snack gift
1:46:14pack, and a green quality vehicle
1:46:16workbench blueprint. The blueprint
1:46:18description was confusing. It added an
1:46:20attack warning system that alerts the
1:46:22bracelet when the vehicle is hit. Seemed
1:46:25pointless since I was almost always
1:46:26inside the vehicle anyway. Maybe useful
1:46:29at night for detecting monster attacks
1:46:31while sleeping. I set it aside without
1:46:33overthinking it. I headed back inside,
1:46:36cracked open a can of chilled peaches
1:46:38and a cold drink from the fridge.
1:46:40Sitting in the cool RV at midday while
1:46:42the world outside broiled at 46°, eating
1:46:46cold fruit. Luxury. I looked at my
1:46:48hands. Three monsters killed this
1:46:50morning without breaking a sweat. No gun
1:46:53needed. No fear, no struggle, just
1:46:56clean, effortless power. This feeling of
1:46:59strength belonging to me, truly mine in
1:47:02my own body, was the best thing I'd
1:47:04experienced since arriving in this
1:47:06world. While driving, I was browsing the
1:47:08trading board when something stopped me
1:47:10cold. A blue quality vehicle water
1:47:12condenser blueprint. It produces 10 L of
1:47:15drinkable water per day installed on any
1:47:18level two vehicle. The seller wanted
1:47:201,000 units of fuel, an insane price
1:47:22that nobody could afford. But water was
1:47:25my most desperate need. With my talent,
1:47:27I could upgrade the condenser for even
1:47:29more output. Enough for drinking,
1:47:32cooking, maybe even showering. I
1:47:34messaged the seller to negotiate. The
1:47:36reply came instantly and completely
1:47:38surprised me. No need to discuss price.
1:47:40I'll give it to you for free. You're w
1:47:43the world rank one on the vehicle
1:47:45leaderboard, right? If you let us join
1:47:47your team, consider this our entry fee.
1:47:49I froze. How did they know who I was?
1:47:52Turns out when the rankings first
1:47:54appeared, this person saw my name before
1:47:56I hit it. They also remembered my
1:47:58profile picture from when I'd posted
1:48:00about buying vehicle cores in the
1:48:02regional chat. They put two and two
1:48:04together. It was a pair of twin sisters,
1:48:06Lynshi and Lenu. They had matching
1:48:09silver ranked talents. One called Twin
1:48:12Bond that could massively boost a
1:48:14teammate's talent effects for 10
1:48:16minutes, usable three times daily. the
1:48:19other called Twin Lotus that could
1:48:21trigger bonus drops when a teammate
1:48:23opens supply boxes, also three times
1:48:25daily. Both talents specifically
1:48:28enhanced a teammate's abilities.
1:48:30Combined with mythical talent rule
1:48:31break, the potential was staggering, but
1:48:34I was hesitant. I had a team scroll, but
1:48:36I'd been saving it for Suan Wan. And
1:48:39trusting two complete strangers with my
1:48:41life in this world felt reckless. Then,
1:48:43Lynn, you sent one more item description
1:48:45that changed everything. shared fate, a
1:48:48special binding contract. Once bound,
1:48:51any member could teleport others to
1:48:53their side, including vehicles. But the
1:48:55catch was brutal. If any team member
1:48:58dies, all surviving members lose 50% of
1:49:01their base stats. If only one person
1:49:03remains, they lose 99%. The sisters were
1:49:07already bound to it. They were offering
1:49:09to bind me, too. It meant they literally
1:49:11couldn't betray me without destroying
1:49:13themselves. With this, you can trust us.
1:49:16Lyn wrote, "My sister and I just want to
1:49:19survive and find our parents. We
1:49:21wouldn't team up with anyone otherwise.
1:49:23The contract was the ultimate guarantee.
1:49:26Betrayal meant self-destruction. I told
1:49:28them I'd give my answer by tonight and
1:49:30accepted Lyu's friend request. I needed
1:49:32time to think this through. The twins
1:49:34talents were incredible, but adding them
1:49:36meant I couldn't use the team scroll for
1:49:38Suan Wan. Big decisions needed careful
1:49:41consideration. I stopped the RV and
1:49:44spent two full hours thinking this
1:49:45through. The twins offer was incredible.
1:49:48The water condenser blueprint, two
1:49:50silver rank support talents that could
1:49:52boost my abilities, and a binding
1:49:54contract that guaranteed loyalty. But
1:49:56the original shared fate contract
1:49:58terrified me. If a teammate died, I'd
1:50:01lose 50% of my stats. If both died, I'd
1:50:05lose 99%. with 112 physical stat that
1:50:09would reduce me to barely above one. A
1:50:11death sentence in this world. The real
1:50:13danger wasn't monsters. It was trusting
1:50:16strangers with my survival. One mistake,
1:50:19one moment of panic, one betrayal, and
1:50:21everyone goes down together. But the
1:50:23more I thought about it, the more the
1:50:25benefits outweighed the risks. If I
1:50:28combined the twin support talents with
1:50:29Su Wan Wan's daily blueprints and my own
1:50:32mythical talent, my growth would become
1:50:35unstoppable. Playing it safe forever
1:50:37meant falling behind eventually. In this
1:50:40game, standing still was just a slow
1:50:42death. I made my decision. I messaged
1:50:44Lyu. I'll team up with you. She was
1:50:47thrilled, but I had one condition. The
1:50:49shared fake contract had to be traded to
1:50:51me first. I would be the one to activate
1:50:54it. I needed to verify it was real. And
1:50:56more importantly, I wanted to try
1:50:58something. Lyu handed it over without
1:51:00hesitation, no conditions attached. She
1:51:03didn't even want the Tang Blade I'd
1:51:05offered as collateral. The moment I had
1:51:07the contract, I used my talent on it.
1:51:10Rule break triggered a two-rank jump.
1:51:12Shared fate transformed into life and
1:51:16death together. The upgraded version was
1:51:18completely different. Every negative
1:51:20effect was gone, replaced with pure
1:51:22benefits. Teleportation. Any member can
1:51:25bring teammates and their vehicles to
1:51:27their side once per day, regardless of
1:51:29environment. Team stat bonus. Each
1:51:32additional member increases everyone's
1:51:34base stats by 10%. Death clause
1:51:37completely reversed. Instead of
1:51:39punishment, if a teammate dies, all
1:51:42surviving members gain 30% more stats
1:51:44for 1 hour. If only one person remains,
1:51:47they get a 100% boost for 1 hour.
1:51:50Maximum team size expanded from 3 to 8.
1:51:53and a new fourth clause, a soul contract
1:51:56that punishes betrayers and protects the
1:51:58faithful. Though the exact mechanism
1:52:01wasn't clear, I stared at the screen,
1:52:03stunned. The contract that had been a
1:52:05terrifying chain was now the most
1:52:07powerful team building tool imaginable.
1:52:10No downside, only upside, the betrayal
1:52:13clause even provided built-in protection
1:52:15against bad faith. This changed
1:52:17everything. I activated the contract and
1:52:20added myself to the team. The moment it
1:52:22registered, me, Linshi, Linu, I could
1:52:26feel my body get stronger. The 10% stat
1:52:29boost per teammate was already working.
1:52:31I messaged Lyu and used the teleport
1:52:33function. A faint shimmer appeared 10 m
1:52:36from my RV. Air rippled and their level
1:52:39two van materialized on the road out of
1:52:41thin air. Before I even stepped out, I
1:52:43heard a bright, excited voice. Wow, we
1:52:47really teleported. The car came too.
1:52:49That was Linux, the younger twin.
1:52:51Energetic, loud, impossible to miss. I
1:52:54got out of the RV. Two girls stepped out
1:52:57of their van. My first reaction was
1:52:59genuine surprise. They were 19,
1:53:01identical faces, fair skin, delicate
1:53:04features, but completely different
1:53:06vibes. Lynu had a high ponytail, big
1:53:09sparkling eyes, and radiated pure
1:53:11energy. Lynshi, the older sister, had
1:53:14long hair falling past her shoulders,
1:53:17quiet and shy, with gentle eyes and a
1:53:20reserved manner. Lyu immediately started
1:53:22teasing me. "Woodee, why are you just
1:53:25wearing shorts, "So improper." But her
1:53:27eyes were glued to the RV behind me.
1:53:29"Let's get inside. It's too hot," I
1:53:32said. They followed me in. The cool air
1:53:34hit them, and Linu gasped. "It's so cool
1:53:37in here. Our van's AC barely works. How
1:53:40is this possible?" She bounced around
1:53:42checking everything. The kitchen, the
1:53:44fridge, the bathroom. Sister, there's a
1:53:47shower. We can actually bathe. She was
1:53:50thrilled, but careful not to touch
1:53:51anything without permission. Lyn, she
1:53:53sat quietly on the sofa, hands on her
1:53:56knees, proper and polite. She hadn't
1:53:59said a word yet. I sat down on the sofa
1:54:01out of habit, forgetting I was shirtless
1:54:03in just shorts, and that I'd landed
1:54:05right next to Lynshi. Lyu instantly
1:54:08jumped between us, arms out
1:54:09protectively. Wu, don't you dare have
1:54:12any weird thoughts about my sister. We
1:54:14have a contract, you know. Lynshi's face
1:54:17turned bright red. She tugged Linu's
1:54:19sleeve and whispered, "Don't say things
1:54:21like that." I realized how it looked and
1:54:24moved to the driver's seat. Force of
1:54:26habit. Don't worry about it. Lyu relaxed
1:54:29and grinned. Then she got serious. By
1:54:31the way, what happened to that contract
1:54:33item? Our base stats jumped 30% after
1:54:36you joined. And that fourth clause about
1:54:39betrayers and oathkeepers, what does it
1:54:41actually mean? That was the question I
1:54:43didn't have an answer to yet. The
1:54:45original contract had punished teammates
1:54:47for dying. The upgraded version rewarded
1:54:50loyalty and punished betrayal, but the
1:54:52exact mechanism was still a mystery. The
1:54:55twins had originally trusted the deal
1:54:57because the old version's harsh
1:54:59penalties made betrayal suicidal. Now
1:55:01that those penalties were gone, replaced
1:55:04by something vague, they had reason to
1:55:06wonder what was keeping everyone honest.
1:55:08"Calm down. Let's talk this through and
1:55:10stop calling me big shot. Just call me
1:55:12by my name or call me big brother," I
1:55:15said. Lyn, you looked at me skeptically.
1:55:17"Big uncle, you don't look that much
1:55:19older than us, though." Lyn, she quietly
1:55:21told her sister to stop being rude, then
1:55:23looked at me with curious eyes. I
1:55:26changed the subject. How have you two
1:55:28stayed so clean? You don't look like
1:55:29you've been surviving in the wilderness
1:55:31at all. It was true. Their clothes were
1:55:34fresh, their faces clean. Meanwhile, I
1:55:36was sitting there in nothing but shorts
1:55:38with messy hair, looking like a caveman.
1:55:40Lynn, she explained calmly. Their
1:55:42talents kept them well supplied with
1:55:44food and water. They'd found extra
1:55:46clothes and supply boxes and just
1:55:48changed when things got dirty. Made
1:55:50sense. Have you run into monsters? I
1:55:53asked. The energy drained from Lin
1:55:55Yu<unk>s face. She scooted closer to her
1:55:58sister. Lots of times. The last two
1:56:00days, we didn't even dare get out of the
1:56:02car to grab supply boxes. Lynn, she
1:56:05added softly. I won't let my sister take
1:56:07that risk. That's why we wanted to team
1:56:09up with you. Then I brought up the real
1:56:11issue, the upgraded contract. Lyn's
1:56:14expression went tense. She was playful
1:56:16and loud, but she wasn't stupid. The
1:56:19original contract had clear punishments
1:56:21that prevented betrayal. The new
1:56:23version's fourth clause was vague and
1:56:25without obvious consequences for bad
1:56:27behavior. They had every reason to feel
1:56:30uneasy. Lynn, she spoke up, composed
1:56:32despite clearly being nervous. What's
1:56:35done is done. We just hope we can work
1:56:37well together going forward. I laid out
1:56:39simple ground rules. I wouldn't force
1:56:41them to do anything extra, wouldn't put
1:56:43them in danger, and would guarantee
1:56:45their safety. In return, when I needed
1:56:47their talents, they had to cooperate
1:56:50without question. All resource decisions
1:56:52would be mine, and if necessary, they
1:56:54might need to abandon their van. My
1:56:56level four RV was superior in every way.
1:56:59Got it. We'll listen to everything you
1:57:02say," Lynu raised her hand like making a
1:57:04pledge. Lynn, she handed over the water
1:57:07condenser blueprint, then said politely,
1:57:09"We'll head back to our van now. Call us
1:57:12if you need anything." As they left, I
1:57:14could see Lynn, you wanted to protest
1:57:15the terms, but Lynn, she silenced her
1:57:18with a look and pulled her out. Fair
1:57:20deal. They got protection from the
1:57:22strongest player in the region. I got
1:57:24two support talents and a daily
1:57:26blueprint pipeline. Trust would come
1:57:28with time for now. Clear rules were
1:57:30enough. I didn't waste time. It was
1:57:32already 3:45 p.m. and 46° outside. I
1:57:37messaged Lu. We're moving. Stay 5 m
1:57:40behind me. Don't pass. Don't fall
1:57:42behind. We set off in convoy. My RV
1:57:45leading their van trailing. About 40
1:57:48minutes later, a supply box appeared on
1:57:50the map with two mutant creatures
1:57:52guarding it. I stopped, told the twins
1:57:54to stay in their car, and walked out
1:57:56with the tang blade. The heat didn't
1:57:58bother me anymore. 112 physical stat
1:58:01meant extreme temperatures barely
1:58:03registered. 3 seconds, two swings, both
1:58:06creatures dead. I didn't open the box on
1:58:08the spot. Instead, I carried the whole
1:58:11thing back to the RV. Lynshi's talent
1:58:14could boost the contents when she opened
1:58:15it. No point wasting that advantage. We
1:58:18kept going. Stop, kill, grab box, drive.
1:58:21Same routine all afternoon. The twins
1:58:24watched everything from their van. I
1:58:26could only imagine what they were
1:58:27thinking, watching me slice through
1:58:29monsters like they were made of paper.
1:58:31By 6:30 p.m., darkness was setting in. I
1:58:35parked and told them to pull their van
1:58:37right up against my RV's rear, safety
1:58:39and numbers. I'd collected three boxes
1:58:42that afternoon. One iron rank, one
1:58:44bronze, one normal. Time to test the
1:58:47twins talents properly. I invited them
1:58:49into the RV and set the boxes on the
1:58:51coffee table. Lynu activated her buff on
1:58:54Lynshi. Then Lynn, she opened all three.
1:58:57The results were impressive. Metal
1:58:59blocks x 30 fuel x 50 plastic x 18
1:59:03rubber x 10 electronic components x 10
1:59:0710 kg of rice a dozen eggs a 12-pack of
1:59:10beer a carton of cigarettes and the real
1:59:13prizes two green quality blueprints a
1:59:16panoramic sensing radar blueprint and in
1:59:19blast proof glass blueprint the raw
1:59:21materials were noticeably more than I'd
1:59:23normally get but the real difference was
1:59:25the blueprints two blueprints from three
1:59:28boxes is my own luck with blueprints had
1:59:30never been that good. Your talents are
1:59:32really useful, I said. Lu beamed
1:59:35proudly, nodding vigorously. Of course,
1:59:38my sister and I are the perfect combo.
1:59:40She wasn't wrong. Between their drop
1:59:42boosting talents and my upgrade ability,
1:59:45this partnership was already paying off.
1:59:47I was about to throw together some food
1:59:49when Lynn, she spoke up quietly, face
1:59:51slightly flushed. Could I try cooking?
1:59:54Turns out she used to cook at home all
1:59:56the time. Lyu backed her up
1:59:58enthusiastically. My sister's cooking is
2:00:00amazing. You'll never forget it. I
2:00:03stepped aside and let her have the
2:00:04kitchen. She opened the fridge, took
2:00:07stock of the ingredients without
2:00:08commenting on the impossibly large
2:00:10interior space, and got to work. Her
2:00:13movements were practiced and graceful.
2:00:15Clearly someone who'd spent years in a
2:00:17kitchen. She made grilled meat, a big
2:00:19plate of eggs, and a pot of white rice.
2:00:22Simple ingredients, just the allpurpose
2:00:24seasoning powder for flavor. But the
2:00:26result was the best meal I'd had since
2:00:29entering this world. Lyu was nearly in
2:00:31tears eating hot rice. Finally, real
2:00:34food. The three of us ate together in
2:00:36the cool RV. A warm, almost normal
2:00:39moment in the middle of an apocalypse. I
2:00:42think cooking duties are yours from now
2:00:43on, I told Lynshi. She gave a small, shy
2:00:47smile. After dinner, Lyu cleaned up,
2:00:50then asked me something with her face
2:00:51turning red. Could we take a shower 5
2:00:54days without bathing? I understood
2:00:56completely, but the water condenser
2:00:58wasn't built yet. Sorry, not tonight.
2:01:01Even after I build it, it needs time to
2:01:03collect water. Lyn, she immediately
2:01:05offered their spare materials to help
2:01:07with crafting. She wanted that shower
2:01:09badly, too, even if she was quieter
2:01:11about it. I told them to rest for now. I
2:01:14needed Lynn use talent buff later, and I
2:01:16had serious planning to do. I sat in the
2:01:19driver's seat and closed my eyes,
2:01:21running through everything in my head.
2:01:23Three talent charges left for today,
2:01:25plus the second ability had finished its
2:01:2772-hour cool down. I had a stack of
2:01:30blueprints to work with. The blue
2:01:32quality storage expansion and alloy
2:01:34armor already upgraded once, ready to
2:01:37craft and upgrade again, plus six green
2:01:40quality blueprints, vehicle glass,
2:01:42engine, workbench, panoramic radar,
2:01:45blast proof glass, and the blue quality
2:01:48water condenser. And then there was the
2:01:49blue quality beast meat. One unit
2:01:52upgraded to gold had given me 100
2:01:54physical stat. If I used the three rank
2:01:56jump ability to push a piece to orange
2:01:59quality, I couldn't even imagine what
2:02:01that would do. Every talent charge had
2:02:03to count. The twin sat silently on the
2:02:05sofa, watching me think, not daring to
2:02:08interrupt. I opened my eyes. Decision
2:02:10made. Time to use my three remaining
2:02:13talent charges. I asked Lyu to activate
2:02:15her buff on me. Her talent, Twin Bond,
2:02:18would boost my talents effects for 10
2:02:20minutes. Had to work fast. First target,
2:02:23the alloy armor. I had exactly 59 metal
2:02:27blocks, just enough to craft the blue
2:02:29quality blueprint. I built it, then
2:02:31immediately upgraded it, jumped one rank
2:02:34to purple super alloy fortress armor. It
2:02:36could resist standard firearms, impacts,
2:02:39slashing, and explosive shrapnel. I
2:02:42installed it right away. My RV was now a
2:02:45rolling tank. Second, the blast proof
2:02:47glass blueprint. Green quality. Upgraded
2:02:50one rank to blue. Blast proof tempered
2:02:53glass resistant to blunt force. Small
2:02:55firearms and explosions. Needed 25 glass
2:02:59and two metal blocks to craft. I'd build
2:03:01it when materials allowed. Two upgrades,
2:03:04both only one rank. Even with Lynn used
2:03:07buff, the 30% two rank chance hadn't
2:03:09triggered. I was getting frustrated.
2:03:12Third and final charge, the water
2:03:14condenser. I crafted it from the blue
2:03:16quality blueprint, then used my talent.
2:03:18This time, something incredible
2:03:20happened. Three rank jump. The 5%
2:03:23probability that I'd started to think
2:03:25was fake. It finally triggered, boosted
2:03:27by Lyn use enhancement. Blue quality
2:03:30jumped all the way to orange.
2:03:32Atmospheric water collection unit. I
2:03:34shot up from my seed in shock. 25 talent
2:03:37uses since getting this ability. And
2:03:39this was the very first three rank jump
2:03:41on effect one. A bit ironic that it
2:03:44landed on a water device instead of a
2:03:46weapon, but the result was
2:03:47extraordinary. The stats molecular level
2:03:50condensation technology that pulls water
2:03:52from air regardless of weather
2:03:54conditions. Output scales with energy
2:03:56consumption. Comes with built-in
2:03:59purification, water recycling, and 10
2:04:01cubic meters of storage. Energy cost
2:04:04100%. With my nuclear reactor providing
2:04:07unlimited power, that energy cost meant
2:04:10nothing. I had infinite water. now. I
2:04:12installed it immediately. The control
2:04:14screen showed a new water production
2:04:16toggle. I turned it on. Continuous
2:04:18output. No restrictions. I turned to the
2:04:21twins with a grin. You can shower soon.
2:04:23The water's coming. Lyu jumped up.
2:04:26Really? We can actually shower, Lyn? She
2:04:28tried to be practical. But a condenser
2:04:30only makes 10 L a day. Isn't showering
2:04:33wasteful? Don't worry about the water
2:04:35supply, I said. Take as long as you
2:04:37want. They didn't understand how, but
2:04:40the look on my face told them not to
2:04:42question it. Lyu's eyes lit up and she
2:04:44immediately ran back to their van to
2:04:46grab clean clothes. Already calling me
2:04:48big brother instead of big shot 5 days
2:04:52without a bath. Tonight, all three of us
2:04:54were finally getting clean. While Lyn
2:04:56went to grab her things, Lynchi
2:04:58apologized for her sister's excitable
2:05:00personality. I told her not to worry. As
2:05:03long as they cooperated, they'd get more
2:05:05than they expected. I also shared my
2:05:08theory about the contract. I suspected
2:05:10teammates couldn't harm each other under
2:05:12its terms. That seemed to ease her
2:05:14tension a little. Lyn came back and I
2:05:16sent them both to shower while I sat in
2:05:18the driver's seat to handle some things.
2:05:20Soon, the sound of running water filled
2:05:22the RV. After days of dust, sweat, and
2:05:26blood, they deserve this. While waiting,
2:05:29a message arrived from Suan Wan. She'd
2:05:31found a green quality water condenser
2:05:33blueprint and thought I could use it. I
2:05:36smiled. Already have one. Keep it for
2:05:38yourself. She was surprised, then asked
2:05:40how I'd gotten one so quickly. I
2:05:42deflected and asked about her situation
2:05:45instead. Her answer concerned me. Rising
2:05:48daytime temperatures were making her
2:05:50dizzy, and every supply box now had
2:05:52monsters guarding it. Alone with no
2:05:54combat talent. She was struggling badly.
2:05:57I told her to stay safe and messaged me
2:05:59if things got critical. I was seriously
2:06:01considering inviting her to join the
2:06:03team, but hadn't made that decision yet.
2:06:06The twins came out looking completely
2:06:08transformed, clean clothes, damp hair,
2:06:11rosy cheeks, refreshed and bright, like
2:06:14different people entirely. They thanked
2:06:16me and headed back to their van for the
2:06:18night. Then it was finally my turn. I
2:06:20traded some water bottles on the
2:06:22exchange for a set of clean clothes,
2:06:24then stepped into the shower. Hot water
2:06:26poured over me for the first time in 5
2:06:28days. Every bit of grime, dried blood,
2:06:31salt, and tension washed away. For a few
2:06:34minutes, I wasn't a survivor in a death
2:06:36game. I was just a person taking a
2:06:38shower. And it was the most peaceful
2:06:40moment I'd had since arriving in this
2:06:42world. Clean clothes, clean body, warm
2:06:45RV, rising water reserves, fortress
2:06:48grade armor on the hall. I sat in the
2:06:50driver's seat, watching the water tank
2:06:52fill on the control screen, and felt
2:06:54something I hadn't felt in days. Genuine
2:06:57calm. At 9:18 p.m., I was ready for the
2:07:00moment I'd been waiting for. My talent's
2:07:03second ability, the three rank jump with
2:07:05the 72-hour cool down, had finally
2:07:07refreshed. I knew exactly what to use it
2:07:10on. One unit of blue quality dog meat
2:07:12from the leader monster I'd killed last
2:07:14night. Blue quality jumped three ranks
2:07:17to orange. The meat transformed into
2:07:20something called Heart of Thai Sway. The
2:07:22description nearly broke my brain.
2:07:25effect 1,000 physical stat plus a
2:07:28passive ability called iron body.
2:07:30Massively increases physical toughness
2:07:33and resistance 1,000 points. My current
2:07:36physical stat was 112. This would push
2:07:39me past 1,100. I couldn't stop myself.
2:07:42The moment I read the stats, I swallowed
2:07:44the entire thing. A warm, gentle energy
2:07:48spread through my body, completely
2:07:50different from the violent explosion of
2:07:52the gold meat. This felt almost
2:07:54peaceful. My awareness lifted out of my
2:07:56body like watching myself from the
2:07:58outside. I was fully conscious but
2:08:01couldn't control anything. Then my last
2:08:03thought before blacking out. Not again.
2:08:05What if monsters come while I'm
2:08:07unconscious? The twins are right behind
2:08:09me in their van. Everything went dark. I
2:08:12didn't know it at the time, but the
2:08:13twins were lying in their van having a
2:08:15conversation about me. Lynn, you
2:08:17couldn't figure out how I had so much
2:08:19water when a condenser should only make
2:08:2110 L a day. Lynn, she guessed it was my
2:08:23talent, but didn't push further. Then,
2:08:26Lynn, you raised something more
2:08:27unsettling. She'd noticed they both
2:08:29trusted me unusually quickly, which
2:08:31wasn't like them at all. She suspected
2:08:34the life and death together contract was
2:08:36subtly influencing their emotions. That
2:08:39clause about walking the same path,
2:08:41sharing the same heart, maybe it wasn't
2:08:43just poetic language. Lynn, she didn't
2:08:46answer. She just laid back and whispered
2:08:48the contract's words to herself. Later,
2:08:51past 11 p.m., monsters appeared in the
2:08:54distance. The RV's lights were still on.
2:08:56I passed out before turning them off.
2:08:59The twins could see shadowy creatures
2:09:01moving in the darkness beyond the
2:09:03light's reach, but the monsters never
2:09:05came closer. They circled at a distance,
2:09:07and their growling sounded almost
2:09:10afraid. Something about the RV or
2:09:12something about what was happening
2:09:14inside it was keeping them away. I woke
2:09:16up at 4:09 a.m. The transformation was
2:09:19complete. The first thing I noticed was
2:09:21my senses. I could hear the twins
2:09:23breathing softly in their van through
2:09:25closed doors. I could see individual
2:09:28pebbles on the road 100 m away in near
2:09:30total darkness. I could feel air
2:09:32currents shifting around me. I open my
2:09:35stats. Physical 1,445.
2:09:39Mental 26. New passive ability, iron
2:09:42body. But there was a warning note. My
2:09:45mental stat was too low to fully control
2:09:47my body strength. Even so, the power
2:09:50inside me felt world ending. I couldn't
2:09:52sit still. I stepped outside into the
2:09:54dark and started testing. I crouched and
2:09:57pushed off the ground. The asphalt
2:09:59cracked under my feet and I shot forward
2:10:01like a bullet, leaving a blurred after
2:10:03image. Then I tried jumping. One leap
2:10:06sent me 20 to 30 m straight up. From
2:10:08that height, I could see the landscape
2:10:11stretching in every direction. I kept
2:10:13going, leaping and sprinting through the
2:10:15darkness, feeling out what this body
2:10:17could do. It was exhilarating, beyond
2:10:20anything I'd ever imagined. I only
2:10:22stopped when dawn started breaking. Went
2:10:25back inside, showered off the dust, and
2:10:27sat in the driver's seat, buzzing with
2:10:29energy. I wanted to find a monster just
2:10:31to see what would happen. At this level,
2:10:34I was something beyond human. The twins
2:10:36had been terrified all night. When I
2:10:38called them over in the morning, they
2:10:40told me dozens of monsters had circled
2:10:42the vehicles for hours, growling in the
2:10:44darkness, but none attacked. I realized
2:10:47it wasn't just the lucky pendant. My
2:10:49body had been emitting some kind of aura
2:10:51during the transformation that kept them
2:10:53away. The monsters were afraid of me. At
2:10:566:00 a.m., a new system announcement
2:10:58dropped. Phase 3. Supply boxes would no
2:11:01longer spawn on the road. Instead,
2:11:03shared public zones would appear
2:11:05randomly throughout each region with
2:11:07better and more plentiful supply boxes
2:11:09inside. These zones meant one thing.
2:11:12Contact with other players was now
2:11:14unavoidable. I gathered the twins and
2:11:16laid down strict rules. In public zones,
2:11:19stay close to me at all times. Don't
2:11:22wander off. Don't make independent
2:11:24decisions. Follow my lead completely.
2:11:26Lyn suggested Lynn she cook breakfast
2:11:28before we head out. After last night's
2:11:30hot meal, nobody wanted cold rations
2:11:33anymore. Over noodles, I thought about
2:11:35what lay ahead. Energy infinite, water,
2:11:38infinite, physical power, godlike,
2:11:41vehicle, the best in the world. The only
2:11:44thing missing was mental strength and
2:11:46maybe answers about what this game's
2:11:47endgame actually was. Phase three,
2:11:50public zones, other players. Things were
2:11:53about to get very different. We set off
2:11:55at 6:50 a.m. About 15 minutes into the
2:11:58drive, Lenu messaged me in a frenzy. My
2:12:01ranking score had jumped from 11,240
2:12:04to 21,340
2:12:06overnight, a leap of over 10,000 points.
2:12:10The cause was obvious. The purple
2:12:12quality fortress armor and the orange
2:12:14quality atmospheric water unit I'd
2:12:16installed last night. Two orange items
2:12:18worth 10,000 points each, plus the
2:12:21purple pieces at 100 each. My full
2:12:24vehicle loadout now red like a shopping
2:12:26list from another dimension. Gold lucky
2:12:28pendant, blue engine, blue bulletproof
2:12:31glass, blue alloy frame, blue blowout
2:12:34proof tires, orange nuclear reactor,
2:12:37purple smart fridge, orange water
2:12:39collector, and purple fortress armor.
2:12:41The chat was going wild about my score.
2:12:43People called it a bug, demanded
2:12:45explanations. Couldn't believe anyone
2:12:47could gain that many points in one
2:12:49night. I skimmed through it and closed
2:12:52the channel. Nothing useful. We drove
2:12:54for 3 hours straight. Then on the
2:12:57horizon, something appeared that made my
2:12:59breath catch. Broken skyscrapers
2:13:01stabbing upward like shattered bones.
2:13:04Collapsed buildings stacked on top of
2:13:06each other. Crumbled overpasses, crushed
2:13:08cars, debris everywhere. A dead city
2:13:11stretching as far as I could see. The
2:13:13system confirmed it. Public zone
2:13:15discovered. Rusted waist city. Area
2:13:1810,000 km. A once thriving metropolis
2:13:22destroyed by apocalyptic catastrophe
2:13:24contains numerous supply boxes. Warning,
2:13:27large numbers of black fog infected
2:13:30present. Danger and opportunity coexist.
2:13:3310,000 square kilm. That's massive,
2:13:36bigger than some country cities. And
2:13:39black fog infected was a new enemy type
2:13:41I hadn't encountered before. Seeing
2:13:44ruins in movies is one thing. Standing
2:13:46in front of a real destroyed
2:13:48civilization felt completely different.
2:13:50The silence, the scale of destruction,
2:13:53the weight of what this place used to
2:13:55be. It was chilling. I messaged the
2:13:57twins. Stay close. Do not leave my sight
2:14:00for any reason. I parked the RV at the
2:14:02city's edge and looked out at the vast
2:14:04wasteland of rubble and ruin. Somewhere
2:14:07in there were supply boxes, monsters,
2:14:10and other players. The only way to find
2:14:12out what awaited us was to go in one
2:14:14step at a time. Move out. We're going
2:14:16in. We drove into the ruined city in
2:14:19formation, my RV leading, the twins van
2:14:22behind. Collapsed buildings towered on
2:14:24both sides. Roads cracked and pitted.
2:14:27The deeper we went, the darker it got.
2:14:30Layers of rubble blocked the sunlight
2:14:32until it felt like permanent dusk. I
2:14:34spotted the tallest remaining skyscraper
2:14:36near the city center. If I could get up
2:14:38there, I'd have a view of the entire
2:14:4110,000 km zone. That became our
2:14:44destination. But after 20 minutes of
2:14:46driving, I realized the problem. This
2:14:48city was too vast, and supply boxes
2:14:51could be hidden anywhere, inside
2:14:53buildings, in rubble, on upper floors.
2:14:56My vehicle's 10-meter radar was useless
2:14:58here. Driving aimlessly wouldn't find
2:15:00anything. Then I noticed a partially
2:15:02intact building on the right, a ruined
2:15:05supermarket, a few stories tall, worth
2:15:07checking on foot. I parked, called the
2:15:10twins over, and we prepared to go in. I
2:15:12grabbed my tang blade and gave one
2:15:14instruction. Stay within 1 meter of me
2:15:17at all times. We stepped through the
2:15:19shattered entrance into darkness. The
2:15:21smell hid immediately. Mold, dust, rot.
2:15:25Shells were toppled everywhere.
2:15:26Packaging scattered. Everything decayed.
2:15:29The deeper we went, the darker it got
2:15:31until we were in near total blackness.
2:15:34The twins grabbed onto my shirt,
2:15:36trembling. It's so dark, Lyu whispered.
2:15:39Stay close, I said. My enhanced senses
2:15:42could see perfectly, even in pitch
2:15:44black. Every corner, every shadow, every
2:15:47detail was clear to me. Then, three
2:15:49figures burst from behind collapsed
2:15:51shelves, human-shaped but wrong, gray,
2:15:54black skin, split mouths full of sharp
2:15:57teeth, clawed arms, black fog infected.
2:16:00They lunged straight at me. The twins
2:16:02froze in terror. Three flicks of my
2:16:04wrist. Three heads hit the floor before
2:16:06the bodies even knew they were dead.
2:16:08Black blood pulled on the ground. The
2:16:11whole thing took one second. Linshi and
2:16:13Linu stood there, mouths open, unable to
2:16:16process what they'd just seen.
2:16:18Let's<unk> go back, I said without
2:16:19looking at the corpses. Nothing useful
2:16:22here. We walked back into the sunlight.
2:16:24The twins finally exhaled, faces still
2:16:26pale. They'd been certain they were
2:16:28about to die. Instead, they hadn't even
2:16:31had time to be scared. The supermarket
2:16:33was a dead end. No supply boxes, no
2:16:36useful loot. Small buildings weren't
2:16:38worth exploring. I looked up at the
2:16:40massive skyscraper dominating the city
2:16:42center. If the small places have
2:16:44nothing, we go straight to the center.
2:16:46That tower was where the real supplies
2:16:48would be. Back in the RV, I told the
2:16:51twins to eat before we did anything
2:16:53else. Lyn, she cooked us rice, meat, and
2:16:56eggs. Simple but filling. After lunch, I
2:16:59sent them back to their van to rest
2:17:01while I figured out our next move. Then
2:17:03I remembered something. The panoramic
2:17:05sensing radar blueprint I'd picked up
2:17:07earlier. The green quality version only
2:17:09scanned 10 m, which my level four
2:17:12vehicle already did, but upgraded. It
2:17:14could be exactly what I needed for
2:17:16exploring this massive city. I called
2:17:18Lyu back to buff me with her talent,
2:17:20then went to work. First talent charge,
2:17:23the blueprint jumped one rank to blue.
2:17:25Detection range increased to 30 m.
2:17:28Better, but not enough for a 10,000 km
2:17:31city. I crafted it, then used my second
2:17:34charge on the finished product. This
2:17:36time to rank jump. Blue to gold quality.
2:17:39Vehicle full domain scanning radar. Gold
2:17:42quality. Real-time display of all living
2:17:44creatures and supply boxes within a
2:17:471,000 m radius. Energy consumption 50%
2:17:511,000 m. A full kilometer in every
2:17:54direction. With this, nothing in the
2:17:57ruined city could hide from me. I
2:17:59installed it immediately. The control
2:18:01screen lit up with a brand new radar
2:18:03interface. Right away, I spotted a
2:18:05yellow dot, a supply box less than 200 m
2:18:09away surrounding it. About a dozen red
2:18:11dots moving slowly. Black fog infected.
2:18:14I drove straight there. 3 minutes later,
2:18:17we reached a collapsed convenience
2:18:18store. The radar showed the box inside
2:18:21along with all the infected. I told the
2:18:23twins to stay in the vehicles with doors
2:18:25locked, grabbed my tang blade, and
2:18:28walked in. Seven or eight infected
2:18:30rushed me the moment I stepped through
2:18:32the ruined entrance. 10 seconds all
2:18:35dead. I found the supply box under the
2:18:37cash register, picked it up, and walked
2:18:39back to the RV like I'd just gone
2:18:41grocery shopping. Through the van's
2:18:43windows, I could see the twins watching
2:18:45with wide eyes, exhaling with relief
2:18:48when I emerged unharmed. Sitting back in
2:18:51the driver's seat, I looked at the radar
2:18:53screen. Yellow and red dots scattered
2:18:55across the display in every direction. A
2:18:58thousand meters of perfect awareness.
2:19:00This city had no more secrets from me.
2:19:02It was just past 100 p.m. I'd originally
2:19:05planned to head straight for the central
2:19:07skyscraper, but with the gold radar
2:19:09covering a full kilometer in every
2:19:11direction, there was no rush. Better to
2:19:14sweep the city's edges first, collecting
2:19:16supply boxes and learning the layout. 10
2:19:19minutes into driving, the radar picked
2:19:21up several red dots clustered together
2:19:24about a kilometer ahead. As I got
2:19:26closer, I heard something unexpected
2:19:28through the wind. Human voices mixed
2:19:30with monster shrieks. Other players.
2:19:33Finally, I pulled up about 30 m from two
2:19:36level two vans parked on the roadside.
2:19:39Both were beaten up, scratched bodywork,
2:19:41shattered windows. The voices were
2:19:43coming from the second floor of a ruined
2:19:45shopping mall nearby. Lyu got excited
2:19:47the moment she saw the vans. Other
2:19:49people, that's their cars. I told the
2:19:52twins to stay in the RV no matter what,
2:19:54then walk toward the mall with my tang
2:19:56blade. I moved silently up the broken
2:19:58staircase to the second floor. Two men
2:20:00were backed into a shop, hiding behind a
2:20:03counter, desperately fighting off six
2:20:05black fog infected with a steel pipe and
2:20:08a machete. They were covered in wounds,
2:20:10pale, breathing hard. They wouldn't last
2:20:13much longer. They spotted me and
2:20:15screamed for help. I crossed the
2:20:16distance in a flash. Three swings, six
2:20:19heads hit the floor. done before any of
2:20:22the infected could even turn toward me.
2:20:24The two men stood frozen, weapons
2:20:26clattering from their hands, staring at
2:20:28me with their mouths open. They couldn't
2:20:31process what had just happened. Stop
2:20:33standing there. Follow me downstairs, I
2:20:35said. They snapped out of it and
2:20:37scrambled after me, thanking me
2:20:39repeatedly. If you hadn't come, we'd be
2:20:42dead for sure. I led them outside to
2:20:44where the vehicles were parked. The
2:20:46twins watch from the RV windows,
2:20:48surprised to see me bringing strangers
2:20:50back. I stopped and faced the two men.
2:20:52Tell me who you are, how you ended up
2:20:54together, and what you know about this
2:20:56ruined city. The two men couldn't stop
2:20:59staring at my RV. The shorter one, Wong
2:21:02Hao, blurted out, asking where I got
2:21:04such an incredible vehicle. I shut that
2:21:06down immediately. Not your concern.
2:21:08Answer my questions. The taller one,
2:21:11Lelay, was smarter. He quickly
2:21:13introduced them both. Former residents
2:21:15of Linhai city met at a road fork teamed
2:21:18up to survive. They'd entered the ruined
2:21:20city after this morning's phase 3
2:21:22announcement and ran into trouble almost
2:21:25immediately. They had zero information
2:21:27about the city's layout or contents.
2:21:30Then the twins stepped out of the RV.
2:21:32Wongghao stared and said something about
2:21:34how beautiful they were. Lyu frowned and
2:21:36muttered so rude under her breath. Lyn,
2:21:40she pulled her sister's arm to keep her
2:21:41quiet. I got nothing useful from these
2:21:44two, so I turned to leave. We're going.
2:21:46Stay safe. Wonggho panicked. He rushed
2:21:49forward, begging to join us. The city
2:21:52was too dangerous. They couldn't handle
2:21:54the monsters alone. They'd help carry
2:21:56supplies, watch the vehicles, anything.
2:21:59Leel backed him up, though. He trailed
2:22:01off when he remembered watching me kill
2:22:03six infected in under a second. I said,
2:22:05"No, flatly. We don't need help. Take
2:22:08care of yourselves." Wong Hao got pushy.
2:22:11How can you be like that? We're all
2:22:13human. We should stick together. Even
2:22:15someone as strong as you can't handle
2:22:17everything alone. I turned and looked at
2:22:19him. Just looked. One cold stare. He
2:22:22went rigid. Whatever he was about to say
2:22:25died in his throat. Fear replaced the
2:22:27frustration on his face instantly. Leel
2:22:30grabbed his friend and apologized
2:22:32repeatedly. I walked back to the RV
2:22:34without another word. The twins followed
2:22:36and we drove away. These two weren't bad
2:22:39people, just desperate and weak. But I
2:22:41couldn't afford to carry dead weight.
2:22:43Every person I added to my group needed
2:22:45to bring real value. Talents, skills,
2:22:48resources. Random survivors with steel
2:22:51pipes and no useful abilities would only
2:22:54slow me down and create risks. In this
2:22:56game, compassion without calculation
2:22:58gets you killed. We spent the afternoon
2:23:01sweeping the city's edge using the
2:23:03radar. By 6:00 p.m., we'd collected 10
2:23:05more supply boxes. encountering only
2:23:08scattered infected and no other players.
2:23:10I parked in a relatively open
2:23:13monster-free area for the night. When
2:23:15the twins came aboard, they were
2:23:16drenched in sweat and clearly suffering.
2:23:19Lynu said the heat was unbearable, even
2:23:22with their vans AC running. Lyni added
2:23:24that from 300 p.m. onward, breathing
2:23:27inside their vehicle had become painful.
2:23:29I checked the outside temperature on the
2:23:31control panel, 50°, and the sun had
2:23:34already set. That wasn't normal.
2:23:36Temperatures should drop after dark, but
2:23:38inside the ruined city, the heat was
2:23:41actually holding steady or climbing. Lyu
2:23:44mentioned the regional chat was full of
2:23:45players fleeing the city. The public
2:23:48zone's temperature was significantly
2:23:49higher than outside, and most people
2:23:51couldn't survive it long-term. Their
2:23:54vehicles and bodies simply couldn't
2:23:55handle it. I thought it over. The heat
2:23:58didn't affect me at all with my 1,445
2:24:01physical stat, and my RV's purple AC
2:24:04backed by nuclear power kept the
2:24:06interior perfectly cool. But the twins
2:24:08were normal humans in a basic level two
2:24:10van. If temperatures kept rising
2:24:13overnight, they could be in real danger.
2:24:15The decision was simple. You're sleeping
2:24:17in the RV tonight. I'll take the sofa.
2:24:20You two take the bed. Lyn nearly jumped
2:24:23through the ceiling with excitement.
2:24:25After days of sleeping on hard van
2:24:27seats, a real bed was like a dream.
2:24:29Lynn, she blushed and hesitated.
2:24:32Wouldn't that be inconvenient for you?
2:24:34But Lynn, you dragged her toward the
2:24:35bedroom before she could protest
2:24:37further. We're teammates, I said. It's
2:24:40not a problem. While they explored the
2:24:42bedroom with bright eyes, I turned my
2:24:44attention to the stack of supply boxes
2:24:46waiting to be opened. 10 boxes from
2:24:48today's sweep, plus the one from
2:24:50earlier. With Lynshi's talent boosting
2:24:52the drops, tonight's hall could be
2:24:55significant. The real question lingered
2:24:57in my mind. Why was the city so much
2:24:59hotter than outside? Was it the ruins
2:25:02trapping heat or something more sinister
2:25:04built into this zone? And if the
2:25:06temperature kept rising, how long before
2:25:08even my RV systems were tested? I lined
2:25:11up all 11 supply boxes on the sofa. The
2:25:14ruined city was delivering way more
2:25:16boxes than the open road ever did. If
2:25:19the streets weren't so cluttered with
2:25:20debris and collapsed buildings, forcing
2:25:23me to crawl along at low speed, I could
2:25:25have found four or five times as many.
2:25:28The breakdown, one silver, two iron, six
2:25:31bronze, two normal. I had Linu buff her
2:25:34sister, then let Lynn, she opened the
2:25:36three highest rank boxes while I handled
2:25:38the rest. My eight boxes, normal and
2:25:41bronze, gave solid basics. 31 metal
2:25:44blocks, 33 glass, 26 rubber, 15 plastic,
2:25:49eight electronic components, 110 units
2:25:51of fuel, plus assorted food, bread,
2:25:55water, instant noodles, milk, canned
2:25:57meat, potatoes, tomatoes. Lynch's two
2:26:00iron boxes produced, 30 metal blocks, 18
2:26:04rubber, 15 electronic components, 40
2:26:07fuel, flour, and a case of liquor. Then
2:26:10the silver box, the star of the night.
2:26:12Lyn, she opened it and her eyes lit up.
2:26:15Electronic components x 30 fuel x 100 10
2:26:19kg of rice and a blue quality blueprint.
2:26:22Protective coating design. The coating
2:26:24could be applied to the vehicle surface
2:26:26to boost defense and resist corrosion
2:26:28and impacts. Needed just five glass and
2:26:31five rubber to craft. Simple materials
2:26:34for a useful upgrade. I sorted
2:26:36everything methodically. Raw materials
2:26:38into storage, food into the fridge.
2:26:41Looking at the organized stockpile, I
2:26:43felt more settled than I had in days.
2:26:46Resources were finally building up
2:26:47rather than constantly being spent. Then
2:26:50I asked the twins if they'd used their
2:26:51daily trades yet. They hadn't. I told
2:26:54them to check the trading board for
2:26:56quality of life items. We had plenty of
2:26:58water to trade now, and our living
2:27:00standards needed improving. Lyu jumped
2:27:02at the task eagerly. She explained that
2:27:04cooking ingredients were practically
2:27:06worthless on the market because nobody
2:27:08else had kitchens, time to cook, or the
2:27:11ability to make fire in 50° heat. Other
2:27:14survivors had been dumping food items
2:27:16for cheap. Perfect for us. We had a
2:27:18fully equipped kitchen, a chef in
2:27:20Lynshi, and unlimited water and power. I
2:27:23left them to handle the trading and went
2:27:25to the driver's seat to think. Three
2:27:27talent charges remaining today. 11 boxes
2:27:30worth of new materials and blueprints to
2:27:32work with. Every decision had to
2:27:35maximize the return. I decided to use
2:27:37all three talent charges on vehicle
2:27:39upgrades. Today, my physical stat was
2:27:42already at 1,445,
2:27:44but my mental stat couldn't keep up, so
2:27:47pushing body strength further was
2:27:48pointless for now. Lenu had one last
2:27:50buff charge. I had her activate it, then
2:27:53worked fast. First, crafted the blue
2:27:56quality blast proof glass and upgraded
2:27:58it. jumped one rank to purple. Composite
2:28:01bulletproof crystallized glass could
2:28:04withstand medium caliber gunfire,
2:28:06high-speed shrapnel, and explosions.
2:28:08Installed immediately, the RV's biggest
2:28:11weak point was now armored. Second,
2:28:13upgraded the blue quality protective
2:28:15coating blueprint jumped one rank to
2:28:18purple anti-corrosion stealth composite
2:28:21coating. It absorbed radar waves,
2:28:23weakened infrared signatures, and
2:28:25reduced detection risk on top of basic
2:28:27defense. But the crafting materials
2:28:30included something I'd never seen.
2:28:32Quantum primal matter x 5. No idea what
2:28:35that was or where to find it. Set it
2:28:37aside for later. Third target was the
2:28:39storage space expansion. I crafted it
2:28:41from the blue blueprint and it just
2:28:44activated. No physical item appeared. My
2:28:47inventory simply expanded by 20 slots. I
2:28:50sat there confused for a moment. I
2:28:52planned to upgrade the finished product,
2:28:54but there was no product to upgrade.
2:28:56With one talent charge left and Lynn
2:28:58used buff about to expire, I grabbed the
2:29:01green quality engine blueprint from the
2:29:03supply station and upgraded it. Jumped
2:29:06one rank to blue turbo pulse engine.
2:29:08Speed 50, but 20% more fuel consumption.
2:29:12Better than my current blue engine on
2:29:13paper, but the improvement wasn't
2:29:15dramatic enough to install right now. I
2:29:18try upgrading it again tomorrow.
2:29:20Meanwhile, Lyn had been busy on the
2:29:22trading board. In a world where nobody
2:29:24had kitchens, cooking ingredients were
2:29:26nearly worthless. She'd been swapping
2:29:28water for all kinds of food and
2:29:30household items at bargain prices. My
2:29:33current vehicle loadout was stacking up
2:29:35impressively. Gold lucky pendant, gold
2:29:38full domain radar, two orange items,
2:29:40nuclear reactor and water collector,
2:29:43three purple items, glass fridge and
2:29:46fortress armor, plus blue engine frame
2:29:49and tires. One thing nagged me though,
2:29:51when I replaced the old glass with the
2:29:53new purple version, the system didn't
2:29:55return the old component. All those
2:29:58replaced parts over the past days, just
2:30:00gone. A waste, but not worth stressing
2:30:02over at this point. Lyn, you call me to
2:30:04dinner. Lynn, she had cooked up a feast
2:30:06with the fresh ingredients. I pushed the
2:30:09minor frustration aside and went to eat.
2:30:12Tomorrow would bring five fresh talent
2:30:14charges, and the ruined city still had
2:30:16hundreds of supply boxes waiting. Dinner
2:30:19was simple but warm. Tomato eggs,
2:30:21shredded potato with meat, grilled meat,
2:30:24and rice. Looking at the twins sitting
2:30:26across from me, eating quietly. I had a
2:30:29strange moment where it felt like a
2:30:30normal evening back in the real world.
2:30:33Lynn, she mentioned the fridge was
2:30:34running low on meat. Trading channels
2:30:36had plenty of vegetables and seasonings,
2:30:38but almost no meat available. I realized
2:30:41I'd been sitting on 28 units of blue
2:30:44quality dog meat in my bracelet storage,
2:30:46completely forgotten in the rush of
2:30:48upgrades and exploration. Lyn complained
2:30:51about the three trade per day limit.
2:30:53Lynn, she casually pointed out that
2:30:55without limits, all resources would
2:30:57concentrate in a few people's hands.
2:31:00That off-hand comment actually made me
2:31:02pause. She was right, and it explained a
2:31:04core piece of the game's design I'd
2:31:06never considered. I checked the rankings
2:31:08out of curiosity. My score had climbed
2:31:11to 22,430.
2:31:13Second place was at 173. The entire top
2:31:1610 had reached level three vehicles now,
2:31:19but the gap between me and everyone else
2:31:21was still astronomical. I asked the
2:31:24twins their stats. Both started at
2:31:26physical 6, mental 14. With the team
2:31:29contracts 30% boost, they were now at
2:31:32physical 7 and mental 18. Still fragile
2:31:35by any standard. Lu asked what my
2:31:37physical stat was. guessing maybe 20
2:31:39called me like a freak. Lynn, she
2:31:42scolded her for being rude. I told them
2:31:44both, "Starting today, each of you eats
2:31:46one unit of blue quality beast meat per
2:31:49day. No exceptions. It permanently
2:31:51increases physical stat by one point per
2:31:54unit." Lynchi immediately tried to
2:31:56refuse. "Too valuable. Save it for
2:31:59yourself." Lyn groaned about being too
2:32:01full and hating meat after days of
2:32:03nothing but grilled protein. I can't use
2:32:06it anymore, I said flatly. You're eating
2:32:08it whether you want to or not. I put all
2:32:1128 remaining units into the fridge. They
2:32:13had until midnight to finish today's
2:32:15portion. Lynn, she agreed quietly. Lynn
2:32:18whed, but her sister shut her down fast.
2:32:20They'd adjust. Stronger teammates meant
2:32:23safer teammates. And safer teammates
2:32:26meant my blueprint source and talent
2:32:27buffs stayed alive. This wasn't
2:32:29generosity, it was strategy. I laid down
2:32:32in the driver's seat. It was nearly 8:00
2:32:34p.m. fully dark outside. Then a quiet
2:32:37worry crept in. Suan usually messaged me
2:32:40by now. Every evening without fail,
2:32:42she'd check in, share her daily
2:32:44blueprint, ask if I needed anything.
2:32:47Tonight, nothing. Not a single message.
2:32:50I sat in the driver's seat, unable to
2:32:52shake the growing unease. I finally
2:32:55messaged Suan Wan. Are you safe? Tell me
2:32:57if something's wrong. I can help. While
2:33:00waiting for a reply, I thought about
2:33:01what I'd been putting off. I wanted to
2:33:04invite her to join the team for days.
2:33:06Her daily blueprint talent was too
2:33:08valuable to lose. And now, with the
2:33:10upgraded life and death together
2:33:13contract, the risk was minimal. The
2:33:15contract bound everyone's interest
2:33:17together, and I'd seen firsthand how it
2:33:19built. Trust with the twins. An hour
2:33:22crawled by. Behind me, Lynshi and Lyu
2:33:25were struggling to finish their
2:33:26mandatory portion of blue dog meat
2:33:29stuffed from dinner. Lyu was whining
2:33:31about never wanting to see meat again.
2:33:33Lynshi patiently encouraged her to keep
2:33:35eating. Then Su Wan Wan's message
2:33:37finally arrived and my stomach dropped.
2:33:40Can you save me? I'm so scared. Monsters
2:33:42everywhere. My van is falling apart.
2:33:45They keep smashing the doors. I can't
2:33:47get out. I don't know how much longer
2:33:49it'll hold. I replied instantly. Do you
2:33:52trust me? If you say yes, I can get you
2:33:54out right now. Her answer came in a
2:33:56heartbeat. I trust you. Whatever it
2:33:58takes. Please just get me out of here.
2:34:01The doors are about to break. No more
2:34:03hesitation. I opened the life and death
2:34:06together contract and added Sue Wan
2:34:08Wan's name. She accepted immediately. I
2:34:11activated the teleportation. I stepped
2:34:13outside. 10 meters from my RV. A
2:34:16battered level two van materialized out
2:34:18of thin air, covered in scratches,
2:34:21windows shattered, doors dented inward.
2:34:24Black monster blood smeared across the
2:34:26panels. It had taken a brutal beating.
2:34:28"Suan," I called out, not loud, but
2:34:31steady. Inside the van, a girl was
2:34:34curled up in the driver's seat, hugging
2:34:36her knees, shaking. When the monster
2:34:38sounds suddenly vanished and she felt
2:34:40the scorching heat of the ruined city
2:34:43replaced the cold terror, she looked up
2:34:45through the broken window and saw me
2:34:47standing there. She burst out of the
2:34:49van, tears streaming down her face and
2:34:52ran straight into me, sobbing against my
2:34:55chest. I was so scared. I thought I was
2:34:58going to die. She was safe now. My
2:35:00fourth teammate, the blueprint talent
2:35:02I'd been protecting from a distance, was
2:35:04finally by my side. Suan wouldn't let go
2:35:07of me. She was shaking, crying,
2:35:09completely falling apart. I told her to
2:35:12come inside. 50° outside, covered in
2:35:15sweat and monster blood. She couldn't
2:35:17stay out there. She didn't seem to hear
2:35:19me, so I just picked her up and carried
2:35:21her into the RV. Lynshi and Lynn, you
2:35:24were sitting inside and froze when they
2:35:25saw me walking holding a sobbing,
2:35:27disheveled girl. Lynn, you blurted out,
2:35:30"Where did you find this pretty girl?"
2:35:32Lynch pulled her sister's arm and asked
2:35:34more tactfully if this was my friend. I
2:35:36just nodded. The RV went quiet except
2:35:39for Su Wan Wan's muffled crying. Her
2:35:41clothes were torn, caked with black
2:35:43monster blood and dust. She looked
2:35:46terrible, Lynn. She gently suggested
2:35:48they take her to clean up. She spoke
2:35:50softly to Suan Wan. Come wash up. You're
2:35:53safe here. I backed her up. It's over.
2:35:55Nobody can hurt you now. Suan Wan
2:35:58finally calmed down enough to let go of
2:35:59me. Lyu grabbed her hand and cheerfully
2:36:02pulled her toward the bathroom,
2:36:04chattering about hot showers and
2:36:05clothes. I have so many outfits. You'd
2:36:08look amazing in a JK uniform with those
2:36:11long legs. While they were in the
2:36:13bathroom, I asked Lynchi to prepare a
2:36:15portion of the blue quality meat. Suan
2:36:17wasn't physically hurt, just terrified.
2:36:20Food and rest would fix that. About an
2:36:22hour later, the bathroom door opened.
2:36:24Lyu led Su Wan Wan out, and I finally
2:36:27got a proper look at her. She was around
2:36:29the same age as the twins, delicate
2:36:31features, fair skin, and now cleaned up
2:36:34and wearing a school-style pleated skirt
2:36:36Lynn, you had picked out. She looked
2:36:38completely different from the terrified
2:36:40mess I'd carried in. Lynn, she brought
2:36:42over a plate of grilled meat and sat Su
2:36:44Wan down on the sofa. Eat this. It
2:36:47permanently increases your physical
2:36:49stat. Suan Wan had composed herself. She
2:36:52looked at me with red, swollen eyes and
2:36:54apologized quietly. Sorry for causing
2:36:57trouble. I was just so scared. Don't
2:36:59worry about it. Eat first, talk later, I
2:37:02said. She nodded and started eating
2:37:04small bites. I thought the crisis was
2:37:07over. Then her shoulders started
2:37:08trembling again. Tears rolled down her
2:37:11cheeks, getting worse by the second. I
2:37:13panicked slightly. What's wrong? You're
2:37:15safe. Nothing's going to happen, Lyn.
2:37:17She rushed to her side. It's okay. Wu is
2:37:20incredibly strong. You don't need to be
2:37:23afraid anymore. Suan Wan wiped her eyes,
2:37:26voice cracking between sobs. I'm fine.
2:37:28I'm not scared. I'm just so happy. I had
2:37:32no idea what to say to that. After Suwan
2:37:34Wan finished eating and got some color
2:37:36back in her face, I asked her what
2:37:38happened. She'd been exploring a
2:37:40different public zone alone when three
2:37:42male players approached her, suggesting
2:37:44they team up for safety. She agreed.
2:37:46Being solo against monsters was tough.
2:37:49Things went fine at first. They found
2:37:51supply boxes together throughout the
2:37:53afternoon. Around 400 p.m. the heat
2:37:56became unbearable and they decided to
2:37:58leave the city. That's when everything
2:38:00changed. During the resource split, the
2:38:03three men turned on her. They said since
2:38:05she was a girl with no combat ability,
2:38:07she deserved less. They took almost
2:38:09everything, leaving her scraps. She was
2:38:12furious, but outnumbered 3 to one. She
2:38:15swallowed her anger and accepted. Then
2:38:17at 700 p.m. they came knocking on her
2:38:20van door claiming they needed to discuss
2:38:22something. She sensed danger and refused
2:38:25to open up. They immediately started
2:38:27attacking her vehicle. She fled and they
2:38:29chased her for about 30 minutes until
2:38:31the growing number of monsters in the
2:38:33area scared them off, but the monsters
2:38:35that had been attracted by the chase
2:38:37surrounded her instead. She stopped and
2:38:40they began ramming her van endlessly.
2:38:42She was trapped inside, terrified,
2:38:45certain she was going to die until she
2:38:47saw my message. Lyn was livid. Those
2:38:50guys are disgusting. She found supplies
2:38:52with them and they robbed her just
2:38:54because she's a girl. Next time we see
2:38:56them, you have to teach them a lesson.
2:38:58Lynn, she brought Su Wan warm water and
2:39:01comforted her gently. I told them all
2:39:03not to be surprised. In a world with no
2:39:06rules and no consequences, some people
2:39:08will do anything. This is just the
2:39:10beginning. Once she'd calmed down, Suan
2:39:13Wan finally noticed her surroundings.
2:39:15The spacious RV, the AC, the kitchen,
2:39:18the fridge. Her eyes went wide. This is
2:39:21a real RV. I've never seen anyone
2:39:23mention anything like this. She looked
2:39:26at the twins curiously. Lu immediately
2:39:28started teasing, hinting that I'd been
2:39:30hiding my true strength from Su Wan Wan.
2:39:33Lyn, she introduced them properly and
2:39:35explained they were all teammates under
2:39:37the same contract. Su Wan Wan looked at
2:39:40me with new eyes. Gratitude, admiration,
2:39:43relief. Thank you, all of you. Without
2:39:46you, I wouldn't have survived tonight.
2:39:48You're part of the team now, I said. No
2:39:50more thank yous needed. Lyu bounced over
2:39:53and grabbed Suan Wan's arm. That's
2:39:55right. We're all together now. For the
2:39:57first time since I'd known her, Su Wan
2:39:59Wan smiled. A real smile. In this brutal
2:40:03world, she wasn't alone anymore. None of
2:40:06us were. I wanted to ask Suan Wan about
2:40:08today's blueprints, but she was
2:40:10exhausted. It could wait. I told her to
2:40:12rest and had Lynchi take care of her.
2:40:15The three girls shared the bedroom. Lyu
2:40:17was thrilled about the bed, pulling Su
2:40:19Wan along while chattering excitedly. I
2:40:22lay down on the sofa and planned
2:40:24tomorrow's route. The ruined city was
2:40:26bigger than expected, and the encounter
2:40:28Su Wan described, three men turning on
2:40:31her, was just a preview. More players
2:40:34were entering the public zones and more
2:40:36conflicts were inevitable. The night
2:40:38passed peacefully. No attacks, no
2:40:40disturbances. I woke at 6:00 a.m.
2:40:43Outside temperature 40° lower than
2:40:46yesterday's peak of 50. Strange pattern.
2:40:49Was the city's heat tied to time of day
2:40:51or was the system controlling
2:40:53exploration windows? I couldn't figure
2:40:55it out, so I let it go. The girls came
2:40:57out of the bedroom before I could knock.
2:40:59Lynn, she started making breakfast. Egg
2:41:02and vegetable noodles with ingredients,
2:41:03Lynn, you had traded for yesterday. We
2:41:06ate together. Four bowls of hot noodle
2:41:08soup. Then I brought up what I'd been
2:41:10thinking about for days. Suan Wan, is
2:41:12your talent connected to your vehicle
2:41:14level? She paused midbite. I think it's
2:41:17related to both my talent rank and my
2:41:19vehicle level, but I'm not completely
2:41:20sure. Before I could say more, Lyn, you
2:41:23jumped in. You're thinking about having
2:41:25Su Wan ride in your RV, right? I was
2:41:27surprised. How did you know? Obviously,
2:41:30Wan Wan and I talked about everything
2:41:32last night. Lynn, you looked smug. Lynn,
2:41:35she added calmly. Let Su Wan Wan join
2:41:37your vehicle. With her talent triggering
2:41:39on a level 4 RV, the blueprints should
2:41:42be much better quality. I hesitated. My
2:41:45concern was whether her talent would
2:41:47still register her old vehicle level or
2:41:49adapt to mine. Lyn looked at me like I
2:41:51was missing something obvious. You can
2:41:53switch vehicles, you know. She just
2:41:56gives up her old one and shares yours.
2:41:58People in the chat have been doing this
2:42:00since public zones opened. Lynch
2:42:02confirmed players could abandon their
2:42:04vehicles and ride with someone else. It
2:42:06was common knowledge from the regional
2:42:08chat, which I apparently never read
2:42:10carefully enough. With that cleared up,
2:42:12I looked at Suan Wan. It's your choice.
2:42:15I won't force you. Even if you say no,
2:42:18you're still part of the team. She
2:42:20didn't hesitate for a second. I'll do
2:42:22whatever you say. I never want to be
2:42:23alone out there again. Lu clapped her
2:42:26hands. New roommate. Finally, someone to
2:42:28talk to. Just like that, my team was
2:42:31complete. For members, each bringing
2:42:34something essential. My combat power and
2:42:36mythical talent, Lynn used talent buff,
2:42:39Lynn, she's drop enhancement, and Su Wan
2:42:41Wan's daily blueprint generation now
2:42:44potentially supercharged by my level
2:42:46four vehicle. Time to see what this
2:42:47combination could really do. Suan Wan
2:42:50suddenly ran out of the RV. Before I
2:42:52could ask why, she came back 2 minutes
2:42:54later, breathless, holding a blue
2:42:57glowing sphere, a vehicle core. She
2:42:59decomposed her old van on the spot. "I'm
2:43:02all in now," she said, handing it over.
2:43:04"I'll do whatever I can to help. I just
2:43:07wish I hadn't used yesterday's
2:43:08blueprints on my own car. Those
2:43:10resources are wasted now." I took the
2:43:13core and told her not to worry. The
2:43:15resources don't matter. You're what
2:43:17matters. I meant her talent was the
2:43:19team's most valuable asset. But from the
2:43:21way all three girls reacted, Linu
2:43:24grinning, Lynshi blushing, Suan tearing
2:43:27up again, I think they took it
2:43:28differently. I moved on to the
2:43:30temperature problem. Outside was 40° at
2:43:33dawn. If it followed yesterday's
2:43:35pattern, it would climb to 50 or higher
2:43:37by afternoon. Was the system
2:43:39deliberately limiting exploration time?
2:43:41Lyn, you had the answer from the chat.
2:43:43Players were speculating the city center
2:43:45had better supply boxes and the rising
2:43:48heat was the systems way of making them
2:43:50harder to reach. Higher reward, higher
2:43:53risk. That settled it. We're heading
2:43:55straight for the center today. That tall
2:43:57skyscraper. We're going there. Everyone
2:43:59agreed. We set off in two vehicles. Suan
2:44:03Wan riding in my RV now. The twins
2:44:05following in their van. We repeated
2:44:07yesterday's routine along the way. Radar
2:44:10spots a box. I stop. Kill the monsters.
2:44:13grabbed the box. Keep moving. By noon,
2:44:15we could finally see the central tower
2:44:17clearly. But then, Su Wan Wan relayed a
2:44:20message from the twins. The temperature
2:44:22was climbing too fast. The deeper into
2:44:24the city we drove, the hotter it got. I
2:44:27checked the external reading, 50°, and
2:44:30it was only noon. Lyu burst into the RV,
2:44:33panicking. Their van's AC was maxed out
2:44:35at the lowest setting, and the interior
2:44:37was still 36° and rising. Lyn, she
2:44:41followed, apologizing for slowing me
2:44:43down. We're a team, I said firmly. Don't
2:44:46talk like that again. The twins level
2:44:48two van simply couldn't handle this
2:44:49heat. My RV's purple AC and nuclear
2:44:52power kept us comfortable, but their
2:44:54basic vehicle was becoming a death trap.
2:44:57I needed to figure out a solution and
2:44:59fast before the afternoon temperatures
2:45:02made the city center completely
2:45:03unreachable for them. I told Lynchi to
2:45:05make lunch while I thought it through.
2:45:07Over lunch, everyone was staring at the
2:45:0950°ree reading on the screen. The twins
2:45:12van was at its limit. Going deeper into
2:45:14the city meant even higher temperatures.
2:45:17I made the call. The twins would hide
2:45:19their van in an abandoned shop and ride
2:45:21in my RV for the push toward the center.
2:45:23Everyone agreed. They parked and
2:45:25camouflaged their vehicle, then piled
2:45:27into the RV. We drove toward the central
2:45:30skyscraper. The temperature kept
2:45:32climbing 50 51 52°. When we were about
2:45:371,000 meters out, the radar lit up like
2:45:39a Christmas tree. Dozens of red dots
2:45:42clustered around the tower with one
2:45:44prominent yellow dot glowing in the
2:45:46middle. A supply box right inside the
2:45:49building. Up close, the skyscraper was
2:45:51staggering, taller than anything I'd
2:45:53ever seen, piercing straight into the
2:45:56sky, cracked and dusty, but still
2:45:58magnificent. The girls were speechless.
2:46:01Outside temperature, 55°. A normal
2:46:04person would collapse from heat stroke
2:46:06within 30 minutes. I told the three of
2:46:08them to lock themselves in the RV and
2:46:10not come out no matter what they heard.
2:46:12Suan Wan grabbed my arm, worried, "There
2:46:15are so many monsters. Are you sure
2:46:17you'll be okay alone?" Lyu patted her
2:46:19shoulder, "Relax! He's basically
2:46:22inhuman." Lyn, she just looked at me and
2:46:24said quietly, "Be careful. If it's too
2:46:27dangerous, come back." I grabbed the
2:46:29tang blade and stepped into the inferno.
2:46:31The air outside was so hot it shimmerred
2:46:33and warped. I didn't feel it. Inside the
2:46:36tower, darkness and the stench of decay.
2:46:39The lobby was crawling with black fog
2:46:41infected dozens of them. And in the
2:46:43center stood a massive one about 2 m
2:46:46tall with arms thicker than a normal
2:46:48person's thighs. It radiated pressure
2:46:51like a mini boss. I felt something I
2:46:53hadn't experienced in days. Excitement.
2:46:56Every fight lately had been effortless.
2:46:58One swing, enemy dead. Move on. Finally,
2:47:02something that might actually make me
2:47:03try. Three minutes. That's all it took.
2:47:06And I was holding back. If I'd gone all
2:47:08out, it would have been faster. Not one
2:47:10of them landed a hit on me. When the
2:47:12giant infected fell, something appeared
2:47:15beside its body. A supply box unlike any
2:47:18I'd seen before. It glowed gold, covered
2:47:21in intricate carved patterns. I touched
2:47:23it, and the name appeared in my mind.
2:47:26Gift of the brave. I walked back into
2:47:28the RV with the golden box. Lyn rushed
2:47:30over immediately, blurting something
2:47:32about how fast I was, then got flustered
2:47:35trying to explain herself. Lyn, she
2:47:37covered her sister's mouth and
2:47:39apologized. Even Su Wan Wan couldn't
2:47:42help laughing. The tension in the cabin
2:47:44lifted. I put the gift of the brave box
2:47:47on the coffee table, but told them we'd
2:47:49open it tonight in a safe spot. Lynu
2:47:52pouted but agreed, then crouched next to
2:47:54the table, staring at it like a kid
2:47:56waiting for a birthday present. Lynchi
2:47:58offered to drive so I could rest. Suan
2:48:01Wan took radar duty in the passenger
2:48:03seat. I lay down on the sofa and closed
2:48:05my eyes. About an hour later, Suan Wan
2:48:08spotted six red dots on the radar moving
2:48:11in a regular pattern, probably players,
2:48:14not monsters. Around the same time, a
2:48:16supply box appeared on screen about 500
2:48:19m from those dots. I told Lynch sheet to
2:48:22head for the box. Don't avoid them. We
2:48:24don't start trouble, but we don't run
2:48:26from it either. We reached the box
2:48:28first, sitting outside an abandoned
2:48:30convenience store with no monsters
2:48:32nearby. I grabbed it and was heading
2:48:34back when four vans pulled up and six
2:48:36people got out. Three men, three women,
2:48:39all roughed up and dusty. They stared at
2:48:41my RV like they'd seen a spaceship. One
2:48:44tall, thin guy asked if I was alone and
2:48:46how I got the vehicle. Wanted to team
2:48:48up. Six people, strong talents, they
2:48:51claimed. A shorter, heavier guy pushed
2:48:54the same angle. Come explore the center
2:48:56with us. It'll be easier together. I
2:48:58declined, then gave them honest advice.
2:49:01Don't go deeper into the city center.
2:49:03The temperature there is too high.
2:49:05Normal people won't survive. I walked
2:49:07back to the RV and drove away. behind
2:49:10me. I could sense them clustering
2:49:12together, talking. I knew what they were
2:49:14discussing. They'd figured out the RV
2:49:16might belong to the world's number one
2:49:18ranked player. Some wanted to follow me.
2:49:21The heavy guy was already scheming about
2:49:23how to negotiate for the RV as if six
2:49:26strangers had any leverage over me. One
2:49:29of the women had the sense to say it was
2:49:30impossible. But the group decided to
2:49:33trail us anyway. People always the most
2:49:35unpredictable variable in any survival
2:49:38game. The six strangers followed us for
2:49:41hours, their dots trailing on the radar.
2:49:43I ignored them. At 5:00 p.m., the heat
2:49:46finally drove them away, their red dots
2:49:49turned and raced toward the city exit.
2:49:51Lyn sighed with relief. Finally gone,
2:49:54like a bunch of annoying shadows. By 6
2:49:57p.m., I decided to stop for the night.
2:49:59Tomorrow, we'd retrieve the twins hidden
2:50:01van, then continue sweeping the outer
2:50:03city. Just as everyone agreed, a flash
2:50:06of light appeared on the coffee table. A
2:50:08pale blue green chest materialized out
2:50:11of nowhere. Lyu jumped back in surprise.
2:50:14Suan Wan blushed and explained. Her
2:50:16talent had triggered. This was her daily
2:50:18blueprint box. The fact that it spawned
2:50:21inside my level 4 RV was exactly what
2:50:23I'd hoped for. Her talent was now linked
2:50:26to my vehicle. Lyn, she parked us in a
2:50:28hidden corner near a ruined office
2:50:30building, then cooked dinner. Afterward,
2:50:33I laid out the full day's hall on the
2:50:35table. One gift of the brave box, two
2:50:38silver boxes, eight iron boxes, 15
2:50:41bronze boxes, and three normal boxes,
2:50:44plus Su Wan's talent chest. I tried to
2:50:47touch her talent box first, but it
2:50:49pushed my hand away with an invisible
2:50:51force. Only Su Wan Wan could open it. I
2:50:54had Linu try her buff on Suan Wan before
2:50:56opening, but it didn't work either. The
2:50:58talent chest was only affected by Su Wan
2:51:01Wan's own talent level and vehicle
2:51:03level, not external buffs. She opened
2:51:06it. A blue quality protective coding
2:51:08blueprint. Su Wan Wan's face lit up,
2:51:11then fell when she saw our muted
2:51:13reactions. We already had that exact
2:51:15blueprint. Lyn rushed to reassure her it
2:51:18wasn't her fault. Lynn, she comforted
2:51:20her gently. I told her duplicates still
2:51:22had trade value. She handed me the
2:51:25blueprint, still looking a bit down. But
2:51:27the important discovery was confirmed.
2:51:29Her talent was now generating blueprints
2:51:31at blue quality or higher, matching the
2:51:34level four RV. Before on her level two
2:51:37van, she'd only produced green
2:51:39blueprints. The upgrade worked exactly
2:51:41as I theorized. Tomorrow's blueprint
2:51:44could be something entirely new. And
2:51:46with the massive stack of unopened boxes
2:51:48sitting on the table, including that
2:51:50golden gift of the brave, tonight's real
2:51:53opening session was just getting
2:51:54started. I didn't waste time. I pulled
2:51:57all the boxes except the two silver ones
2:51:59and the golden gift of the brave toward
2:52:02me and opened them myself. 26 boxes
2:52:05total. The results were underwhelming.
2:52:07Tons of basic materials, 60 fuel, 86
2:52:11metal blocks, 32 plastic, 36 rubber, 48
2:52:15glass, 16 electronic components, plus
2:52:18various food and daily supplies. Not a
2:52:21single blueprint, not even one low-level
2:52:23piece of equipment. Lynn, you didn't
2:52:25hold back. Your luck is terrible. All
2:52:27those boxes and nothing good. Let me
2:52:30open them next time. Suan Wan quickly
2:52:32defended me. Actually, that's really
2:52:34good. When I open boxes, I usually get
2:52:36two to three items each. Wu averages
2:52:39three to four per box. That's way above
2:52:42normal. That caught me off guard. I'd
2:52:44never compared my results to anyone
2:52:46else's. I'd always assumed everyone got
2:52:48similar drops. Hearing this, I finally
2:52:51realized how much the gold lucky pendant
2:52:53had been doing for me all along.
2:52:55Silently boosting every single box I'd
2:52:58opened since day one. I'd taken it
2:53:00completely for granted. Three boxes
2:53:02remained. Two silver and the gift of the
2:53:05brave. All eyes turned to Lynshi. Your
2:53:08turn, I said. She looked nervous. Her
2:53:10talent only had a probability of
2:53:12boosting drops, not a guarantee. She
2:53:15didn't want to disappoint everyone. Lyu
2:53:17grabbed her hand and activated the buff.
2:53:20Suan Wan and I both told her to relax.
2:53:22Whatever came out was a bonus. She
2:53:24opened the two silver boxes first. Metal
2:53:27blocks, electronic components, 100 fuel,
2:53:30plus two notable items, an energy core,
2:53:33blue quality, and something called a
2:53:36spirit essence seed. The seed's
2:53:38description made everyone lean in. A
2:53:40special crop seed containing gentle life
2:53:42energy. The fruit it produces tastes
2:53:45sweet and permanently increases physical
2:53:48stat when eaten. No side effects.
2:53:50Requires an environment with life energy
2:53:52to grow. Matures in 72 hours. Suan was
2:53:56amazed. I thought only monster meat
2:53:59could increase stats. I praised the find
2:54:01to keep Lynshi's confidence up. Though
2:54:03honestly, for me personally, a blueprint
2:54:06would have been more useful. Still, a
2:54:08renewable source of stat boosting fruit
2:54:10was valuable for the whole team. Lynch,
2:54:12she relaxed, smiling now. She handed me
2:54:15the seed and turned toward the last box,
2:54:18the golden one, the gift of the brave.
2:54:20The boss dropped from the central tower.
2:54:22Everyone held their breath. Lynn, she
2:54:24reached out and touched it. The golden
2:54:26chest opened. Lyn shoved her way in to
2:54:29see, but Lynn, she looked at me first,
2:54:32waiting for my nod before showing
2:54:33everyone for items. Every single one was
2:54:36exceptional. A genetic optimization
2:54:38fluid, a one-time use special item that
2:54:41permanently adds 20 physical stat
2:54:43points. A vehicle part selection voucher
2:54:46letting me choose one of three blue
2:54:48quality components. A turbo pulse
2:54:50engine, blast proof tempered glass, or
2:54:52full coverage frame. A purple quality
2:54:55M249 light machine gun with 2,000
2:54:58rounds. An actual vehicle-mounted
2:55:00weapon, the first I'd ever seen. In a
2:55:02talent fragment at silver rank, needing
2:55:0410 to forge a silver grade talent
2:55:06upgrade stone. Linu nearly screamed.
2:55:09She'd only ever heard about purple
2:55:11quality items in chat. Never seen one.
2:55:14Suan Wan was equally stunned, especially
2:55:16by the talent fragment, which was
2:55:18apparently a hot commodity that everyone
2:55:20was hunting for. I praised Lynn Xi's
2:55:23contribution. Her talent combined with
2:55:25Linu's buff had clearly elevated the
2:55:28drops far beyond what I'd get alone.
2:55:30Lynshi blushed and handed everything to
2:55:33me, trusting my judgment on how to use
2:55:35it all. I sent Lynn Xi and Suan Wan to
2:55:38rest, but asked Linu to stay for her
2:55:40buff. Then I sat down and planned out my
2:55:42five talent charges for the day. First
2:55:45priority, the M249 machine gun, my first
2:55:49vehicle- mounted weapon. Upgrading it
2:55:51could make the RV a mobile fortress.
2:55:53Second, the turbo pulse engine blueprint
2:55:56from yesterday. Already at blue quality,
2:55:58I craft it and upgrade the finished
2:56:00product. Third, the selection voucher.
2:56:03I'd pick the full coverage frame to
2:56:05shore up the RV's structural defense,
2:56:08leaving only the tires as the last blue
2:56:10quality weak point. Fourth and fifth,
2:56:13the green quality vehicle workbench
2:56:15blueprint I'd been holding since chapter
2:56:1740. Unknown potential, but I had a
2:56:19feeling it would be significant after
2:56:21upgrading. Plan set. I looked at Lyn,
2:56:24waiting patiently beside me. Ready when
2:56:26you are. Lyu activated her buff and I
2:56:28went to work. First, the M249 machine
2:56:32gun. My talent triggered a two rank
2:56:34jump, purple straight to orange. The
2:56:37light machine gun transformed into a 30
2:56:39mm chain gun auto cannon. A panel on the
2:56:43RV's roof slid open and a retractable
2:56:45metal mount rose into position. The
2:56:48stats were insane. Fires armor-piercing
2:56:50incendiary rounds and high explosive
2:56:53grenades. 120 round ammo box, 60 of each
2:56:57type. Remote or manual operation.
2:56:59Effective range up to 2,500 m on ground
2:57:02targets and 3,000 m against air targets.
2:57:06Maximum range 10,000 m. Ammo resets
2:57:09daily at midnight. The systems flavor
2:57:11text read, "Caliber is justice.
2:57:14Firepower is confidence. Truth exists
2:57:17only within cannon range. Speed penalty
2:57:19of minus 20 and 100% energy consumption.
2:57:23with my nuclear reactor. The energy cost
2:57:25was meaningless. Linu's jaw hit the
2:57:28floor when she saw the weapon emerge
2:57:30from the roof. Everyone stared. I just
2:57:32said vehicle weapon. Don't worry about
2:57:35it. Second crafted the turbo pulse
2:57:37engine and upgraded it. Jumped one rank
2:57:40to purple turbo pulse supercharged
2:57:42engine. Speed 60 massive power boost for
2:57:45hills and rough terrain. Installed
2:57:48third. selected the full coverage frame
2:57:50from the voucher and upgraded it. One
2:57:53rank to purple heavy armor core frame
2:57:56resists high-speed collisions and medium
2:57:58explosions installed. The cabin walls
2:58:01darkened slightly with the
2:58:02reinforcement. Fourth and fifth both
2:58:05charges on the vehicle workbench. First
2:58:07use upgraded the green blueprint to
2:58:10blue. I crafted it then used the final
2:58:12charge on the finished product. Two rank
2:58:14jump blue to gold. It became a smart
2:58:18command hub. The hub integrated four
2:58:20core systems, autonomous driving, full
2:58:23vehicle status monitoring, complete
2:58:25device management, and weapons system
2:58:27coordination. My RV now had a brain. Two
2:58:30double rank jumps in one day. I could
2:58:32barely contain myself. The machine gun
2:58:35and the command hub alone transformed
2:58:37the RV from a mobile home into a genuine
2:58:40war machine. I checked the vehicle
2:58:42panel. Top speed, 240 kmh. The equipment
2:58:46list now included three orange items,
2:58:49two gold items, five purple items, and
2:58:51one blue. My ranking score had jumped
2:58:54from 22,430
2:58:56to 33,610.
2:58:59The chat was definitely going to explode
2:59:00again, but I didn't care. I was looking
2:59:03at a vehicle that could outrun,
2:59:05outshoot, and outlast anything in this

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