Zhou Api, watching Wan Mei bounding out of the sea of fire, felt sorry for himself, but soon he had no time for self-pity because screams erupted around them as if another huge shadow loomed over their heads. The three looked up and saw another wave of meteorites, varying in size, descending.
Mo Yang didn’t hesitate; he grabbed the rope, dragging Wan Mei while running. Zhou Api swiftly followed suit. However, during their sprint, their strength, agility, and speed declined. Their life points rapidly decreased whenever sparks accidentally hit them or flames scorched them. Consequently, within less than half an hour of entering the game, their life points had decreased by over a quarter.
Zhou Api panted, “No, we can’t keep running like this. We’ll exhaust ourselves. We need to find a safe place to hide!”
Mo Yang nodded in agreement. They were newcomers; who knew where they could take refuge? If an entire large city couldn’t escape destruction, other places would fare even worse.
Just then, in the southeast direction ahead of them, a beautiful, emerald-colored beam lit up, gradually transforming into a massive shield covering a certain area. Mo Yang could see that the green shield blocked the descent of the meteorites, indicating it might be a safe zone to escape this apocalypse.
However, the distance between their current location and the shield was considerable. Walking there would take at least a day and night.
Given their current state, walking that distance would deplete their life points before reaching the shield, leading to instant defeat.
Fortunately, the meteorites descending from the sky seemed to have decreased significantly. The ones falling now were just small fragments with tiny flames. Wan Mei glanced at the sky and suddenly remarked, “The meteorite falls seem to follow a cycle. It’s a resting period now.”
Mo Yang sighed in relief, “That’s a relief. If those meteorites kept falling densely on a large scale, this game would be insanely difficult. Even now, it’s not easy. Let’s quickly find a safe place to eat something. My life points have dropped to just over two hundred; this number feels too precarious.”
Zhou Api strongly agreed. Then he spotted a sturdy three-story building made of stone. Its location was excellent; surrounding buildings had collapsed, but it remained untouched, with a vacant area around it and a small stream dug out in front, preventing it from catching fire.
Mo Yang and the others headed straight for the building.
Upon entering, they found dozens of people gathered inside, distinctly divided into two groups.
One group wore clothes with a peculiar style, very natural but not ancient. They adorned themselves with some plant-based accessories, and their hair colors resembled a rainbow – various hues of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. They didn’t quite look human.
The other group wore modern, simple attire, most carrying backpacks. Some of them greeted Mo Yang’s group upon their arrival. Evidently, they were all players. Though the players’ nationalities and skin tones varied, they all shared the identity of gamers, forming a collective.
Additionally, perhaps this was a place where thoughts communicated directly with the mind. Even though the players had different nationalities, races, and languages, they could understand each other’s words directly. When Mo Yang asked Wan Mei about this, Dr. Wan Mei’s answer was: “Thoughts have no borders.” Impressive.
Both groups seemed wary of each other but hadn’t clashed. Everyone was exhausted from escaping for their lives. If there were any disputes, they’d likely settle them in the safe zone covered by the green shield.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Lfs, tbk’r la ublcu? Zjxlcu la tfgf wfjcr kf’nf uba rbwf iemx jcv ojaf bc beg rlvf, gluta? Glv sbe rff atja ugffc rtlfiv? Ufbqif tfgf jgf qijcclcu ab rffx gfoeuf atfgf. Lbk jybea sbe atgff pblclcu er?”
The speaker was a young man with naturally curly blonde hair, obviously not a local.
Zhou Api excelled in communication and was quite interested. He asked, “How many of you are there in total? Does everyone in this room intend to move together? Are there any requirements for collective movement? Any benefits for moving together?”
The young man listened to Zhou Api speaking and could tell he was shrewd. He shrugged and chuckled, “Since we’re going to act together, we definitely need a leader. Our leader is a level-four player. Among the one hundred million players, there are only a few dozen at level four. How impressive is that, right? Just follow our leader, and it’ll surely offer better security. After all, there’s still a short distance to the green light barrier. If we unite, it’ll be easier to achieve our goal!”
“As for the requirements…” The young man grinned at the backpacks behind Mo Yang and the other two, “Everyone’s belongings should be gathered and distributed uniformly. We’ll search for food and water together, and assist each other against danger. It’ll increase our survival chances, right?”
Mo Yang’s eyebrows lifted, while Zhou Api chuckled.
The chubby guy might not have many advantages, but his memory and sharp observation were definitely among them. He scanned the players in the room. There were around forty players, most carrying backpacks. However, judging by their weary and frightened expressions, many were rookies.
Even if rookies had backpacks, who could be sure what was inside? The reason this young man and his leader gathered everyone wasn’t due to Zhou Api’s dark thoughts but because their behavior suggested they might use these first-time players as cannon fodder.
He didn’t believe anyone would altruistically act purely out of kindness. Though the blond leader was a high-level player, there was no guarantee he’d protect them.
So, Zhou Api waved his chubby hand cheerfully, “Oh no, we three are quite headstrong. We prefer doing our own thing and don’t like following orders. But don’t worry, we won’t follow you to take advantage. Worst case, we’ll choose a different path. Danger comes unexpectedly. Even if we walk the same path, who knows when disaster might strike?”
Zhou Api’s lengthy retort shut down everything the blond youth intended to say. He opened his mouth but didn’t utter a word, merely glanced begrudgingly at Mo Yang and the others with their bulging backpacks before turning and leaving.
Once he departed, he went to the group of over twenty gathered individuals and said a few words. Clearly, they hadn’t anticipated the swift refusal from Zhou Api’s group. Their expressions soured, but at this moment, it wasn’t suitable to do more than glare.
Mo Yang opened his backpack and looked for something to eat.
Inside were high-grade HP recovery items and easily carried delicacies made by their group’s expert. Among them were pre-made caviar sandwiches, fried chicken wings, savory pancakes, and crispy rice, although the intense running had made them less visually appealing. Taste mattered most to Mo Yang as he munched on a sandwich, watching his HP swiftly recover, feeling quite content.
Unlike Mo Yang, Wan Mei consumed his specially crafted rice balls that could be stored long-term and provided sustained HP recovery. The taste wasn’t bad, but compared to Mo Yang’s variety, Wan Mei seemed more focused on utility. Still, even his rice balls seemed more appetizing than Zhou Api’s meat bun.
Zhou Api took a bite of his meat bun, glanced at Mo Yang’s sandwich, and sighed. At times like these, he keenly felt the loneliness and frustration of being single. Handmade bento from a lover was something he probably wouldn’t experience for years, if ever.
Still, it was better than nibbling on dry bread and buns.
Mo Yang, engrossed in his meal, didn’t notice the increasingly covetous gazes aimed at his backpack. Having finished his delicious caviar sandwich and feeling full in HP, he decided not to eat anymore, planning to sip on the refreshing fruit juice Wan Mei brewed. However, suddenly, a strong, grimy hand lunged from the side, attempting to snatch his backpack without a word.
Mo Yang narrowed his eyes instantly, gripping his backpack tightly, and kicked out, but the person dodged and brandished a glinting knife. He menacingly said, “You have so much delicious food, yet you can’t share? Many of us haven’t eaten. Since we’re in the same camp, you should sh—”
Before he could finish, Zhou Api sent him flying like a human cannonball. As the player crashed into the wall, nearly depleting their HP and shouting in fear, Zhou Api, under the wary glares of the room, smiled kindly, “Speak politely, don’t resort to violence. And our belongings are ours; we don’t intend to share. Worst case here is just a game failure. Murder isn’t against the rules.”
No one else in the room spoke. The players, introduced to the Dream World within this month and having experienced at most one or two romance games, only now realized that this Dream World wasn’t as easy as they had thought. At least in this game, they had no advantage. They couldn’t do as they pleased.
To some extent, those who had dreamed of dominating this world and changing their lives felt a bit of regret for their impulsiveness.
Seeing the tension rise, the blond youth stepped forward, “Hey, let’s not get agitated. It’s just a game, we just got in, and there are still nine and a half days left. Let’s conserve our energy.”
Zhou Api shrugged, smiled, and sat back down.
At that moment, the ground began to tremble slightly, and everyone in the room’s expressions shifted. Simultaneously, the NPCs within the game seemed to have made a decision, and almost twenty people stood up.
The players here all turned their gazes.
The blond youth, after being reminded by one of his teammates, brightened up and walked over to them, smiling. He displayed his most charming smile and friendly demeanor but was immediately stopped by a male archer with deep green hair and a few leaves behind his ears.
The blond youth’s smile froze.
“Step back. We don’t talk to outsiders.”
Then, one of the blond youth’s bespectacled teammates intervened, “Jack, come back. They are too hostile to engage with us.”
Jack returned begrudgingly. This was his first setback. Previously, his attractive face and friendly smile had helped him gather a lot of information from NPCs, even earning him a hidden skill—his initial NPC affinity +10. This skill usually gave him a bit more knowledge in the game than others and even led to discovering several rewarding hidden quests.
But now, it seemed the NPCs in this world had a terribly low initial affinity toward them.
After Jack returned, he couldn’t help muttering, “I think they might know a better route to that place. Too bad we can’t have them guide us. Even if not guiding, they could have let us follow from behind.”
The middle-aged man with glasses patted his shoulder, “It’s okay, we can follow them from a distance. They won’t completely shut us out. Friendly communication might be impossible, though.”
Before the man finished, a gasp came from beside them. Both Jack and the man looked over to see Mo Yang happily chatting with the same male archer who had pointed the bow at Jack’s nose earlier!!
Jack couldn’t believe his eyes. The archer accepted a rice ball from Mo Yang and handed it to a young pink-haired girl within their group. She ate it, widened her eyes, and then happily shared the rice ball with others.
The archer, who had previously seemed fierce and intense, now wore a gentle expression. Jack heard him say to Mo Yang, “Thank you for the food; it’s delicious and… seems to have a magical power.”
“We’re heading to our ancestral land, seeking the queen’s blessing. Though you’re outsiders, you can follow us for now. In about three fruit-eating times, the sky fire will arrive again.”
Mo Yang smiled gratefully, “Thank you so much. Don’t worry, we’ll walk behind you, won’t slow you down, or cause any trouble.”
The archer nodded, then turned to face a visibly upset Jack. His smile vanished instantly, and he wore a cold expression as if he were a giant iceberg.
Jack: ?!?!
Wait, how is this possible?! Before, I was the popular one, and others were the ones being avoided! How high is the NPC affinity of that black-haired man who’s not as good-looking as me?!
Author’s Note –
Jack: Feels like I’ve hit rock bottom in life.
Mo Yang: The affinity boost is too high; I usually don’t initiate conversations with NPCs. Plus, that’s true in the real world too.
Lol destruction to Jack’s self esteem
our dear mc is born with an innate passive charm boosted by a certain pheonix