Chapter 14

The kitchen was fully stocked, sugar, salt, soy sauce galore, so Su Han got to work.
First, she simmered two fresh fish into soup, slicing some for sashimi. Once the broth was ready, she blanched the raw slices in it, then fished them out, their texture suddenly soft and silky!
Su Han devoured the fish piece by piece, wishing she could dip it in sesame or peanut sauce. But considering this was a survival game, money tight, luxuries forbidden, she snuffed out the idea, sighing with regret.
From far off, Zhong Rui caught a whiff of fish, mouthwatering, irresistible. He glanced around, eyes narrowed, tracing the scent. When he finally discovered the bamboo cottage, and the familiar face inside inhaling food like a glutton, his expression got even more peculiar. “Did you forget this is a survival game?”
Su Han popped another bite in her mouth, wearing her best “I’m doomed” scowl. “It’s just fog, not dangerous at all. What am I supposed to do, scream in terror?” Might as well treat it like a vacation.
“No job?” Zhong Rui pressed.
Su Han said nothing. There was no point telling a potential rival she couldn’t find work. In a game like this, everyone’s competition, it’s best to stay guarded.
Zhong Rui caught on instantly, resigned. “Still think I’m suspicious?”
“I’m fine surviving by myself. Don’t need extra baggage.” Su Han replied, tactfully as always.
Zhong Rui was speechless. So it wasn’t that he was especially untrustworthy; she just didn’t trust anyone, period.
After a thoughtful pause, Zhong Rui’s tone grew serious. “I still owe you a favor. Want to know how to clear the beginner instance? I’ll tell you, for free.”
Su Han gave him a mystified look. “If you’re talking about the time I patched you up, you don’t owe me anything. You already paid me with those meds, and gave me a heads-up about leaving the apartments. We’re square.”
“But I think my life is worth more than three boxes of antibiotics.” He looked oddly solemn as he spoke.
Then he suddenly changed tack. “If you feel bad about it, why not buy me a meal?” He eyed the roasted oysters and sashimi on the stove.
Su Han: “……”
Is this guy seriously just here to mooch food?
She knew better than anyone: some foods were easy to stockpile, but truly tasted like cardboard, black bread, for one. If you’re desperate, you stomach it to survive. But given the choice, every player would jump at the chance for a decent meal.
Yet Zhong Rui had enough cash to buy out entire pharmacies. Why was he here bumming food off her? Wouldn’t a restaurant be more his style?
The only explanation was payback, and the mooching was just an afterthought.
“Go ahead.” Su Han decided to listen, at least.
“In crisis situations, the first thing you lose is water and electricity. So I stockpiled a hundred bars of soap, a hundred boxes of energy biscuits, and seven hundred bottles of mineral water, planning to cash in when utilities went down. Luckily, my gamble paid off.” Zhong Rui smiled faintly.
Seven hundred bottles… Su Han was honestly impressed. But then something struck her as odd. “Where’d all the candles come from? You had more than just water at your stall that day.”
“Found them in an abandoned warehouse. Total accident. In game terms, I guess… I stumbled onto a resource point before anyone else.” Zhong Rui replied.
Su Han lowered her gaze, silent. She wondered, could the beach count as a resource node? Maybe she’d find food there from time to time?
Zhong Rui kept going. “Once tap water was undrinkable, street stalls did great business. I traded for a bunch of useful stuff. And then, well, the chase, running into you. After leaving the apartment, the whole place turned into a warzone, so I hid out deep in the forest until the instance was over.”
Hiding out in the wilderness? Su Han’s expression grew strange. If she remembered right, someone on the forum mentioned their buddy had cleared the level by hiding in the mountains, too.
“Yeah, I saw the threads on the forum, but that wasn’t me,” Zhong Rui explained instantly, reading Su Han’s look with ease. “Wasn’t just me hiding out in the woods, you know.”
Su Han shrugged and handed over a grilled oyster. “Here, eat.” His survival strategy was basically useless to her, she wasn’t about to hoard 700 bottles of water, nor vanish into the woods. Still, he’d been forthcoming, so she figured she’d treat him to dinner. The ingredients were foraged, anyway; if she didn’t cook them, they’d just go to waste.
Zhong Rui: “……”
A casual “Here, eat”, that’s it?
Zhong Rui was speechless. Sharing his own struggles wasn’t exactly a plea for gratitude. Or well, not just for gratitude.
When he was badly hurt, Su Han hadn’t kicked him while he was down, instead, she’d helped out. That said a lot about her. By telling his story, he’d been hinting he was a top player, hoping she’d take the chance to cozy up and ask for his protection. And if she had, he’d totally have agreed.
But nope. She listened, forgot it all, and didn’t seem even a little interested in clinging to a big shot for backup.
They each polished off an oyster. Su Han moved on to steam crab and toss razor clams in the wok.
The self-proclaimed big shot stood awkwardly to the side, ignored and invisible. Suddenly, a thought struck him, his eyes hardened as he realized it.
Zhong Rui spoke softly, “You’ve cleared the beginner instance too, haven’t you?”
It was the only thing that explained her indifference. Clearly, she was strong enough to stand on her own, she didn’t need anyone to lean on.
Su Han looked genuinely puzzled. “Don’t I look like it?” She thought she gave off super-tough energy. Wasn’t it obvious she wasn’t easy to mess with?
As expected. Zhong Rui took a deep breath and changed the subject. “No worries, I’m full.” With that, he turned and strode off without looking back.
Su Han stared after him, totally baffled. How does one grilled oyster count as “full”? What was he even doing here?
After feasting, Su Han realized she’d gathered way too much seafood, there were still more than ten pounds of razor clams, a couple pounds of steamed crab, and a full pound of fresh shrimp.
She mulled it over, then boxed up the clams and crabs, planning to set up a food stall outside. She might be eating well for now, but she was flat broke, only 50 Bei left. No way that’d last until day 20 in the bamboo huts, so figuring out how to make money was now top priority.
“Clams for sale! Hot and fresh clams!” Su Han called out loudly.
The stir-fried clams smelled incredible, the scent wafting far and wide. Even with the mist swirling over the path, the aroma was like a signpost, luring in the hungry.
“Wow, smells amazing, how much?” A girl stopped at the stand, closed her eyes, and took in a deep, blissful breath, before breaking into an enchanted smile.
“15 Bei per pound.” Su Han had done her research beforehand; the market price was twenty-five per pound. But since her clams were wild-caught, not farmed, they didn’t look as nice. Plus, her setup was nothing fancy. Rather than risk scaring off customers, she decided to go full clearance-sale mode and offer a heavy discount.
“Only fifteen?” The girl’s eyes lit up as she dug out her money. “I’ll take a pound to try.”
Su Han hurried to serve her. Being the very first customer, she gave her a generous helping of clams and even threw in a steamed crab for good measure.
“Try it, if you like it, come back next time,” Su Han said cheerfully, though honestly, she had no clue if she’d do this again.
The girl took a bite and her eyes went wide. The clams were plump and savory, the flavors perfectly absorbed. Absolutely delicious!
“This is incredible!” she said, suddenly filled with an unexpected burst of gratitude.
“Glad you like it! Take your time.” Su Han looked calm on the outside, but inside she was jittery. Hearing the praise finally set her nerves at ease, and she broke into a delighted smile.
The scent kept drifting, and it wasn’t long before passersby were drawn over, unable to resist wandering to the little stall.
“Clams, right? I’ll take a pound too!”
“Are you selling crab? How much a pound? What flavors you got?”
“I want two pounds of clams. Wait, why is there only one flavor?”
The clams and crabs were scavenged from the beach, and the bowls and chopsticks borrowed from the bamboo lodging. With zero overhead, Su Han felt extra bold running her business.
If customers wanted a little extra, she’d pile it on; if they asked for crab, she gave it cheerfully. If anyone complained about the single flavor, she shot straight back, “First day out here, didn’t have time for more flavors. But hey, I’ll make it up to you, here’s more clams.” That always shut them right up.
Within the hour, she sold every last bit of seafood. Tallying up her takings, Su Han realized she’d moved fourteen pounds of clams for a clean 210 Bei.
For a moment, she felt dazed, like one of those “out-of-work girls forced into entrepreneurship, who somehow reverses her fate and rockets straight to the top” inspiration stories.
Packing away her things, she got ready to head home, but a customer caught her arm, reluctant to let her go. “Your clams are unreal! Will you be here tomorrow? Make more, there wasn’t nearly enough!”
“I will, I will!” Su Han nodded eagerly. She still hadn’t made enough to cover rent, no way she could afford a day off.
On her way back to the bamboo huts, Su Han couldn’t help but wonder: what even was this second instance about? The mist wasn’t dangerous at all. Walk slower, drive more carefully, it hardly affected daily life. How was this a survival game?
If she hadn’t run into Zhong Rui, she’d have thought she’d respawned on the wrong server and ended up in a simulation management game instead.
Su Han was lost in her thoughts, when suddenly, right next to her, came a sharp, “Tss, bang, .”
The sound was jarring, another crash, close by this time.
Su Han looked over, just in time to see someone in a volunteer vest get slammed by a car and sent flying. The body traced a perfect arc through the air, then thick mist swallowed him up. She only heard the heavy “thud” as he hit the ground. Where he landed, no one could say.
Su Han’s mouth twitched. Of course, volunteering was basically a death wish on this island. Signing up would've been asking for trouble.