Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Desert Town
Seconds later, the white glow faded. Sight returned. A wave of heat slammed into everyone. Long Ming squinted at the view.
Ruins stretched in all directions. Most were earth?and?stone buildings, eaten away by wind and sand. Yellow sand covered the ground. A few broken structures still held most of their walls.
People blurted questions: “Where is this?” “No idea, but it’s hot!” “Looks like a desert.” “You’ve got to be kidding me, did we end up in a desert?” “What do we do next?” “No idea!”
Long Ming lowered his gaze to the wristband to check for prompts. The Quest Log had updated. It read: Task: Survive! Requirement: survive in Wabiga for 12 hours and extract safely. Reward: 500 1D Coins. Note: only those who are alive have the right to talk about anything. Tip: because you are using a game helmet, the maximum play time is 24 hours. If you pass the limit, you will be judged dead and forced offline.
He saw the map icon had unlocked. He opened it with hope, then frowned. The map was almost all black. Only the area around him was visible. [So I have to explore to reveal it.] Green dots scattered across the darkness marked Extraction Points. There were quite a few of them, and several were not far away. [Good. Leaving might not be too hard.]
He closed the screen and looked over the ruins. From how the walls were laid out, this had once been a town, but the damage was too great. Many houses were down to one or two dirt?stone walls.
He started forward to explore, scanning the broken buildings for anything useful. But as he walked, it was sand and more sand, hardly anything of value.
Even so, he kept at it. After more than ten minutes, he finally found a house that was mostly intact. It still had three walls, though the roof had collapsed. He stepped in carefully. Inside were scattered stones and sand. At first glance, nothing of value.
Then something in a corner caught his eye. It was half buried. He knelt and brushed away the sand. A bit of metal chain showed. He tugged and pulled out a thin iron chain about three meters long.
He scanned it with his wristband. The screen displayed: Metal Chain. Grade: White Tier. Material: iron. Value: very low. Weight: 3 kg.
He hesitated, then put it in his backpack. [It isn’t worth much, but it’s better than nothing.] The pack felt heavier right away, but still manageable.
He checked the room again and, seeing nothing else, left to search other ruins. Outside, players were picking through the rubble everywhere, so he quickened his pace.
Half an hour later, empty?handed again, Long Ming reached the central zone of the ruins. Groups of players were gathered there talking. He heard them trade complaints: “Did you find anything good?” “Not a thing. It’s all sand.” “Same here, nothing.”
A pale young woman with twin ponytails fanned her cheeks with her hands while grumbling: “It’s so hot, I can’t stand it.” But the air itself was hot, so fanning did nothing. She loosened the top of her collar, showing a large patch of white skin.
Eyes turned at once. Several players stared; a few swallowed hard.
A shifty?eyed man smirked at a guy in a black tank top with a shallow scar on his forehead and said: “Cao Heng, what do you think of that girl?” The man answered: “Fresh.” The first man chuckled: “This world feels so real. I wonder what it’s like to play for real.” The other asked: “Zheng Bin, you mean?” Zheng Bin gave him a sly grin: “Heh heh.”
They walked up to the young woman and spoke with forced smiles: “Miss, you seem to be playing alone, want to team up?”
Seeing how greasy they were and how their eyes stuck to her chest, Lin Yue caught their bad intent and refused: “No need.”
Cao Heng pushed closer and said, half?teasing, half?pressing: “Don’t be shy, we’ll take care of you.”
Lin Yue backed up a few steps, nerves tight as she asked: “What are you doing?”
Zheng Bin waved it off and reached out his hand: “Nothing, just want to team up.”
People nearby watched with frowns, but no one stepped in.
Long Ming glanced once, then returned to scanning the area and the crowd. [Other people are here to have fun. I came here to find a way to live.]
A sharp voice cut through the heat: “Stop!” Zheng Bin’s hand froze. Scowling, he turned to look.
A tall, handsome young man in a White Tier shirt walked over, eyes sharp.
Zheng Bin glared and warned him: “Kid, this has nothing to do with you. Don’t stick your nose in.”
The newcomer answered without fear: “I don’t like what I’m seeing, and I will step in. So what?”
Lin Yue hurried to hide behind him.
Zheng Bin and Cao Heng felt their pride crack. They were about to move when four players came up and asked: “Qin Yan, what’s wrong?”
Qin Yan rolled his neck like he was warming up and said: “Nothing. Just two punks from Sin City.”
Zheng Bin’s smile flipped as fast as a switch. He laughed it off and said: “Just kidding, we’re leaving.” He dragged Cao Heng away.
Qin Yan watched them go, then turned to Lin Yue and said: “You’re fine.” She looked up at him, cheeks a little pink, and said: “Thank you.”
Around them, the crowd drifted back to grumbling: “What kind of dumb game is this? I searched forever and found nothing.” “Yeah, and it’s super hot.” “I’m getting thirsty.” “Are we here to play or to suffer?” “So what do we do next?” “Who knows. We should leave this place and search somewhere else.” “Will it be dangerous outside?” “For sure.” “Then what should we do, can someone carry me?”
Listening to the complaints, Long Ming judged there was nothing of value left here. He turned and walked away.