“The rich have stinking wine and meat while the poor die in the streets. We can’t even get water to drink, but this woman uses it to wash her feet, and then sells us her foot-washing water. When I catch her, I’ll make sure she knows what it means to wish for death!”
“Exactly, you dead woman, you’re so cheap and disgusting, deliberately trying to sicken people, aren’t you?”
“To sell foot-washing water for supplies, how could she even think of that? Damn it, don’t let me catch her!”
Gu Qing smiled faintly in the face of the curses; her mindset was very good.
She sighed softly, looking at the increasingly outrageous trade requests in the channel.
“Dorm 67, Liu Qiang: Trading my girlfriend for two bottles of mineral water. Can inspect in person!”
“Dorm 77, Sun Li: Trading my boyfriend for food. Can also inspect in person!”
Gu Qing curled up on the cork bed, covered by a warm and comfortable quilt.
Her consciousness lingered on the virtual screen, and a video in the chat channel made her breath catch.
In the footage, a team of survival players was retreating while fighting in the corridor.
Behind them, a bloated, sickly green-skinned zombie swayed as it pursued them.
The zombie’s belly was so distended it was almost transparent, and the dark green liquid sloshing inside was visible.
“Run! It’s a special infected!” the leading man shouted.
The next second, a kitchen knife was thrown, hitting the green zombie’s belly. The zombie shrieked, and its belly immediately burst open like a balloon, splattering dark green pus everywhere.
The three survivors who were splattered let out piercing screams, their skin beginning to fester at a visible rate.
Even more terrifying, the explosion attracted a dozen ordinary zombies, which swarmed out from every corner, Pounce the injured survivors.
The video shook violently, and the person filming fled.
What a dangerous world.
Just then, new messages appeared in the chat channel.
“Global Announcement: The Mutual Aid Society has been established, led by me, Zhao Jundu, who has awakened the Weapon Proficiency - Blade talent. We offer basic survival material exchange, and everyone helps each other. Joining requires submitting 20% of personal supplies as a public reserve. The Mutual Aid Society’s aim is to help more people survive.”
“Global Announcement: The Wild Wolves Gang is recruiting! We only take those who can fight! We will seize supplies and women together! My name is Li Baoqiang, and I am also a survivor who has awakened a talent. We will seize food and women together. While neighbors hoard food, I hoard guns. My neighbors are my granary! Idealistic people are welcome to join.”
Two announcements appeared almost simultaneously in the public channel, marking the first time factions had formed in this survival game.
Before long,
“Please… I’ll give you all my food…” a girl’s desperate cry came, followed by the thud of a heavy object falling and beast-like cheers.
In the chat channel, similar tragedies were being reported in real-time by survivors:
“Dorm 302, Wang Ming: The Wild Wolves Gang has raided many dorms again! Their leader has awakened the Strength Talent, possessing immense power. Ordinary dorm doors can’t stop them at all. Anyone who dares to resist is beaten to death on the spot! Women are kept captive.”
“Dorm 145, Li Na: The Mutual Aid Society is distributing supplies at the entrance of Dorm 148. Each person is limited to half a cracker… Everyone can also come and resist the Wild Wolves Gang’s atrocities together!”
It’s chaos, everything’s turning into a mess.
I also need to try my best to become stronger; just having a Level 2 iron door isn’t enough.
With the formation of factions and organizations, their resources will be concentrated at the top, which is definitely the biggest threat to ordinary players.
“Dorm 110, Ye Fan: These beasts from the Wild Wolves Gang! Is anyone teaming up to rescue people?”
“Dorm 89, Wang Tiezhun: Don’t be impulsive. They have weapons and people who have awakened talents. Going there is just suicide.”
“Dorm 34, Li Xue: Can someone save Su Xiaoyu from Dorm 207? She just said in the channel that she found food… and then the Wild Wolves Gang broke down her door and took her away.”
“Dorm 123, Zhang Fei: Who dares to go out alone now? No matter how many supplies there are, life is more important.”
“Dorm 189, Wang Dadang: The Wild Wolves Gang is recruiting. It’s said that if you join them, you’ll get food and water.”
“Dorm 136, Chen Gong: Don’t believe it! They live by robbing others. If they can rob others today, they can rob you tomorrow!”
In the evening,
No longer looking at the chat channel, Gu Qing rubbed her eyes. She stretched, and her purple silk pajamas slipped off her shoulders.
Gu Qing had washed her original clothes and hung them in the dorm to dry.
A heartbreaking cry suddenly came from the corridor: “Please… this is all my last food…” followed by the dull thud of a blunt object hitting flesh and beast-like laughter.
Gu Qing ran to the door and looked through the peephole to see five burly men surrounding a scrawny boy.
The bald leader kicked the boy in the abdomen. The boy hit the wall like a rag doll, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The boy’s backpack was torn open, and a bag of instant noodles fell to the ground.
“The Wild Wolves Gang is doing business, and you dare to resist?” the bald leader sneered. “All supplies must be voluntarily handed over for unified distribution!”
The boy curled up on the ground, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth: “This… I risked my life for this… Didn’t you say it was voluntary?”
The bald man grinned menacingly and raised his iron bar: “Yes, voluntarily handed over. Now it’s ours.”
“Bang!”
With a dull thud, the boy’s head burst open like a watermelon. Gu Qing clapped her hand over her mouth, her stomach churning.
After killing the boy, the men came to Gu Qing’s iron door and looked at it.
Damn, an iron door, so sturdy?
The bald leader knocked a few times with his iron bar, then spat.
“Mark this one down. We’ll come back when we get tools to break the door!”
“The girl inside must have a lot of supplies!”
Gu Qing only breathed a sigh of relief after the men had walked away.
Before long, new footsteps sounded in the corridor.
“It’s me, Lin Qianye.” He knocked on the door a few times.
Gu Qing hesitated for a moment.
The iron door could protect her from harm, but it would also keep Lin Qianye out.
Should she let him in?
Although he was a bit bad, he was also a reliance for her in this survival world.
After a few seconds of deliberation, Gu Qing still opened the door for him.
Lin Qianye entered the dorm with bloodstains on him.
His gaze immediately locked onto the water dispenser, and his eyes became somewhat dangerous.
“Interesting, a Level 2 iron door, plus a water dispenser. Where did a girl who never leaves her home get so many supplies?” Lin Qianye approached Gu Qing.
Gu Qing took a step back, her chest heaving violently: “What do you want to do?… I got them through trade…”
Gu Qing hadn’t expected Lin Qianye to turn on her so heartlessly.
Lin Qianye sneered, then suddenly grabbed her wrist with such force that she cried out in pain.
“Ordinary trades can get you these?” He pointed to the iron door and the water dispenser.
“Do you know how scarce steel is? And the materials for the water dispenser. What secret are you hiding?”
Gu Qing struggled, her long hair disheveled: “Let go of me! You’re hurting me!”
Lin Qianye ignored her, pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his waist, and “clicked” them, handcuffing Gu Qing’s hands behind her back.
Then he pressed her onto the cork bed.
“What are you doing?” Gu Qing was genuinely a little angry.
Lin Qianye scrutinized her from above:
“Resources that suddenly appear in the apocalypse can only mean one thing: you’re hiding a secret, and this secret might threaten me.”
“Then go back to your own dorm! Why are you interrogating me?” Gu Qing was truly speechless.
“Purple pajamas, you really know how to enjoy yourself.”
Gu Qing was filled with shame and indignation. Lin Qianye’s eyes darkened, and his finger traced her collarbone.
He leaned in, his voice low: “Do you know what’s scariest in the apocalypse? It’s not zombies, it’s human hearts.
And right now, you make me very uneasy.”
Gu Qing’s eyes welled up with tears.
Tears streamed from Gu Qing’s eyes.
Gu Qing was a bit flustered, her lips trembling, so nervous that her teeth chattered.
Gu Qing closed her eyes in despair, waiting for her sect’s protective formation to be broken by an evil cultivator’s spell.
“Scared now? Are you going to tell me?” Lin Qianye had no thoughts of being gentle.
However, as Lin Qianye’s examination reached its final moment,
His movements suddenly stopped.
Gu Qing opened her tear-filled eyes and saw a rare look of astonishment on Lin Qianye’s face.
“You…” His voice was somewhat hoarse, “Still a virgin?”
Gu Qing turned her face away, tears falling patter-patter.
I still have a man’s soul, do I need to tell you that?
Lin Qianye was silent for a long time, then suddenly released her and stepped back.
He rubbed his temples. If Gu Qing had a wealth of life experience, he might have truly been a bad person this time.
They were both adults, and in the apocalyptic world, where survival was uncertain, Lin Qianye was no saint.
Gu Qing was hiding a secret, and he wanted to know it.
But the other party was an innocent girl, crying so pitifully,
It made Lin Qianye unable to go through with it.
“I do have secrets. We’re all adults; who doesn’t have a few secrets? You have secrets too, would you tell me yours?
I promise I won’t be a threat to you, that’s enough. Let’s continue to cooperate. You go out to collect supplies, and I’ll stay here to build a home. We can help each other, that’s all.” Gu Qing wiped her tears and said indignantly.
“You’ve temporarily convinced me. I’ll continue to observe you.” Lin Qianye said after a few seconds of silence.
“Temporarily… Forget it… Aren’t you going to unlock my handcuffs, you scoundrel! You’re like a lunatic, I kindly let you in, but you treat me like this.” Gu Qing urged.
“Try using that tone with me again?” Lin Qianye said playfully.
“What? Are you some domineering CEO? Let me tell you, if you mess with me, you’ve kicked cotton. I won’t do it again, isn’t that enough? Please let me go, please.” Gu Qing said softly.
“…This guy has a bit of a contrast.” Lin Qianye thought to himself.