The sky above was a dull, dark red—like diluted blood—seeping an ominous twilight across the barren land. It was the kind of sight that might terrify someone at first glance. But after days of staring at it, Cheng Shuili had gotten used to the eerie canvas. What still bothered her was that there weren't any signs of life beneath it.
"Trading post opens at 3 PM..."
She muttered along with the crackling voice of the old radio and glanced at the system clock.
14:55.
"Yeah, no way I'm making it today."
She curled her lip. Even if she floored it at top speed, there was no chance of finding the so-called trading post in five minutes—especially when the coordinates had come through as little more than garbled static and half-heard digits.
Apparently, even trades relied on luck.
"Forget it. I'll deal with it another day."
Cheng Shuili didn't stop driving. It wasn't until around 7 PM—an hour before nightfall—that she eased her speed and started scanning the roadside for a safe place to sleep.
The system had warned her: Do not stray more than six meters from your vehicle at night.
"Nightfall is the unknown. And the unknown means danger."
She repeated the system's welcome message like a mantra. She hadn't seen any monsters yet, but she wasn't stupid. Just because she hadn't been bitten didn't mean there were no teeth out there.
The road was flanked by withered shrubs, and the silhouette of a distant mountain range blurred into the purplish dusk. Shuili opened her system panel:
Today's distance traveled: 80 kilometers.Daily goal: 50 kilometers.
"Well damn. Overachiever much?"She smirked in satisfaction.
A flat patch of ground appeared on the right side of the highway, surrounded by sparse brush and offering a decent line of sight. She slammed the brakes. The shopping cart screeched to a halt, cutting off its obnoxious promotional jingle mid-note.
"This'll do."
She hopped out, circled the area once to check for anomalies, then retrieved a ten-meter rope and a utility knife from the storage compartment.
Cheng Shuili cut the rope into three pieces. One she tied to the axle of her motorized cart. She then took an empty plastic water bottle, cut it in half, and tied the halves together to the rope to create a crude alarm system.
Any movement would cause the bottles to clack against each other. And for a light sleeper like her, that was more than enough warning. The other two lengths of rope were stretched out in a triangle formation around the cart, about five meters from the vehicle—just within her six-meter radius.
"Perfect."
She dusted off her palms and admired her handiwork with pride. Sure, it was still the newbie protection period, so monster spawns were probably lowered… but better safe than eaten. With the perimeter secured, she returned to the cart, pulled out a fresh self-heating rice meal and a half-eaten can of preserved peaches.
The sky had deepened to a purplish hue now. That once blood-red horizon had darkened like bruised flesh, the stars flickering weakly overhead like busted LED pixels in a dying billboard. Steam curled up from the meal pack as she sat cross-legged beside her cart, dinner in hand, and pulled up the day's summary.
[Player: Cheng Shuili
ID: AAAJCCJ8888
Username: Crow Takes Flight
Vehicle: "Supermarket Promotional Use Only" Motorized Shopping Cart
Current Charge: 790%
Health: 60 (Buffed by title—do not unequip lightly.)
Strength: 30 (Still no change?!)
Stamina: 30 (Come on, not even a bit?)
Agility: 30 (Survival on the road is like swimming upstream.)
Combat Power: 45 (You've regressed.)
Supplies: Vehicle Upgrade Core x1, Pre-packed Meals x9, Self-heating Rice x3, Self-heating Hotpot x4, 500ml Bottled Water x5, Compressed Biscuits x1, Utility Knife x1, Rope (cut into 3 sections), Thick Coat x1, Matches x15, Folding Military Shovel x1, Multivitamin Tablets x500, 5L Gasoline x1, Vehicle Upgrade Material Fragments x7, Old-fashioned Radio x1]
"…Tch."Shuili squinted at the screen. The system's sarcasm was getting more creative by the day.
"Three more fragments to go and I can finally upgrade my ride…"
Chopsticks in her mouth, she began scheming. Maybe she could hit the market and finish the upgrade today. As soon as she opened the trade channel, a familiar name pinged her.
[Smart University Student]: @Crow Takes Flight Are you seriously bullying small fry like me, big boss? Don't pretend you didn't see my DMs! Not replying just proves you're guilty!
[Smart University Student]: Everyone, help me out here! You all know how rare upgrade material fragments are, right?! This bastard traded me four pieces for just ONE self-heating rice box! Four pieces!!
[Smart University Student]: I checked the market all day—people are trading those rice boxes for TWO fragments at most! And this bigshot scams me out of four?! @Crow Takes Flight Give me back my stuff!
[One Fat Piggy]: Ooooh, drama. I'm here for it. Keep going.
[Relieved]: Honestly, Smart Student has a point. Crow, you're a known player. Isn't it kinda low to haggle over a couple of fragments? Just give him another rice box and call it even.
[Where The Wind Blows]: Seconded! C'mon, be fair.
Shuili's grin turned razor sharp. Without missing a beat, she opened her private messages with [Smart University Student], took a screenshot of the original trade, and blocked him. Clean. Swift. Surgical.
Seconds later, the public channel exploded again.
[Smart University Student]: You blocked me?! @Crow Takes Flight @Crow Takes Flight @Crow Takes Flight Are you serious?! Can't you just give a little more? I'll keep tagging you until everyone sees your true face!
[Relieved]: Crow, this isn't a good look. It's just a rice box. If he feels cheated, why not just make peace?
Where did all these self-righteous saints come from?
Cheng Shuili cracked her knuckles and typed:
[Crow Takes Flight]: [Screenshot attached] You dumbass. You initiated the trade. Look at the date and time.
[Smart University Student]: ???
[Crow Takes Flight]: What is this, refund season for toddlers? If we all threw tantrums after a deal, no one would trade ever again.
[Strawberry Hard Candy]: Supporting Crow! What's next, signed contracts with "no take-backs" for every deal?
[Piggy Battles Romeo]: Neutral party here, but yeah—Crow's in the right. Can't believe people are still trying to scam with sob stories. There's always one.
Warmth bloomed in her chest. Cheng Shuili wasn't the sentimental type, but those comments hit nice.
[Crow Takes Flight]: Thanks, everyone. And hey, @Relieved—you're clearly generous. Why don't you send everyone here a rice box each? Small group, shouldn't be too hard, right?
And just like that, the rally began.
[Strawberry Hard Candy]: LMAO! Saint Relieved, don't be shy. Share the love!
[Piggy Battles Romeo]: You got this, Relieved! Don't tell us a couple rice boxes are outta reach?
Cheng Shuili watched the thread fizzle out as [Relieved] went silent.
Drama over. But grudges? Oh, those were eternal.
She smirked to herself and quietly added [Relieved] to her blacklist.
If there's ever a day she could repay that nuisance in kind...
"Heh," she chuckled softly, "don't blame me when it comes."