Chapter 29

The study was quiet. One man slumped against the bookcase, barely breathing, each breath ragged and shaky.
“Want to survive?” Zhong Rui appeared without warning, ghost-silent.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” The young man tilted his head, unbothered. He looked about thirty, skinny and almost overly refined.
“I save your life, you do something for me later,” Zhong Rui replied, all business.
The man’s lips curled into a wry smile. “Taking advantage of a crisis, huh?”
Zhong Rui only shrugged. “It’s a fair trade, not a stick-up. You only get a deal when both parties agree.”
The man laughed, carefree, almost teasing. “Sorry, gotta disappoint you. I got looted clean. Not a scrap left. I’ve already decided I’m out of the Tournament.”
“That’s a shame.” Zhong Rui’s tone was flat, not even pretending to care. Without another word, he left in search of his next opportunity.
The young man’s eyes narrowed, his voice so low it was barely a whisper. “I don’t need saving, and I sure as hell won’t make promises I can’t keep.”
In the game room, a young woman sat resting in the corner, hugging her knees. Her stamina had dropped to 23%, there was no way she’d risk running into anyone else like this.
“Need a hand?” Zhong Rui strolled in and took a seat a little ways off, making it clear he meant no harm.
The young woman pulled herself tighter, gaze hard and wary. “No. Get out.”
“Really?” Zhong Rui sounded offhand, but pressed, “Looks like you’re about to run out of stamina. You’re not far from death, and your meds are clearly gone, or you’d have already patched yourself up by now.”
“Lucky it’s just me. I don’t plan on messing with you, but what if it’s someone else next time? You sure you’d make it out alive?”
He didn’t wait for her reply, just shrugged. “I’m only here to strike a deal. If you don’t want it, I’ll walk.”
Zhong Rui started to stand, but was stopped by a sudden noise behind him. “Wait, what deal?”
Zhong Rui’s lips quirked up. “Simple. I save you, you owe me one favor, anything I ask, no questions, no complaints.”
The young woman snorted, but couldn’t resist probing, “And if I get knocked off before you can cash in?”
Zhong Rui’s tone was easy, unbothered. “That’s just a busted investment. You win some, lose some. At worst, a small loss; at best, surprise win.”
She lapsed into silence. After a long moment, she replied, “Let’s tweak the terms: I promise never to be your enemy, and I’ll throw in a full-body armor suit. In return, you give me stamina meds, whatever kind, enough to total 300 points. That way, even if I die in this instance, you don’t get totally screwed.”
Zhong Rui’s brow arched, genuinely surprised by her bluntness, clearly not the type to owe people favors. Unbidden, he thought of Su Han.
“Two suits,” Zhong Rui bargained, grinning.
The young woman’s eyes almost rolled out of her head, and she couldn’t help but raise her voice. “That’s premium armor! No way you’re getting two! Stab-proof, bulletproof, the works!”
“Any other armor? Rare items, I’ll take two of those.” He adjusted his request without missing a beat.
She paused, then hedged, “I’ve got some armored vests. Stab-resistant and bulletproof, but only covers your torso.”
“Deal.” Zhong Rui sealed it right away, and started unpacking all sorts of meds, bandages, antibiotics, ointments, hemostatic powder, you name it.
The girl gaped in disbelief. “Did you rob a pharmacy?” she whispered.
Zhong Rui grinned, flashing his teeth. “Nah, I just bought out the place. Money talks, after all.”
Speechless, she tossed him two vests, then eagerly used the meds to boost her stamina to 90%. She finally let out a deep breath, safe at last, for now.
On the second day in the instance, she felt her sense of security return.
Zhong Rui stashed the vests in his personal inventory but couldn’t help his curiosity. “With all that armor, how’d you end up half-dead anyway?”
The young woman sighed, then gave a bitter laugh. “Guess some people see a girl wandering alone and think she’s easy pickings? I was attacked by a bunch last night. Blew through all my meds. If not for the armor, I’d be dead by now.”
“Good luck.” Zhong Rui was more than satisfied with this unexpected windfall. As for the other party’s whole “we’ll never be enemies” promise, well, honestly, he didn’t care if they meant it or not anymore.
He wandered around the gambling room and the storage room, noticing that the two injured players he’d spotted earlier were now gone. Whether they’d been saved, run into trouble, or just hadn’t made it and turned into white light, who knew?
Zhong Rui didn’t give it much thought. After his lap, he headed back to Room 201.
At that moment, Su Han was in the middle of cooking noodles.
Cai Sheng had the noble task of smashing up chairs into firewood and tossing them in the brazier.
Su Han boiled bottled water in a pot, added some seasoning packets and instant noodles, then, feeling it wasn’t enough, sliced up fish fillets and chopped squid, dropping them in to cook together.
The scent of instant ramen mixed with fresh seafood was making everyone’s stomach growl in protest.
Cai Sheng swallowed hard, realizing he was absolutely starving and in desperate need of excessive noodles and seafood, stat!
But Su Han showed zero signs of serving dinner. Instead, she started working on prepping the pigeon.
After a few minutes, she put the whole pot of noodles aside and switched to a fresh one, beginning her masterpiece: pigeon soup.
Cai Sheng wrenched his eyes away, refusing to look, one more second staring at all that food and he knew he’d do something criminal. But in a fight with these big shots, he was toast, so the only option was ruthless self-control.
Still, even without brothy meat in sight, the aroma kept wafting up his nose. Cai Sheng squeezed his eyes shut, enduring what felt like a torturous trial.
A knock sounded at the door, right as Zhong Rui’s voice called, “It’s me, open up.”
Cai Sheng’s energy instantly returned, and he rushed to open the door. In his mind, the group was complete and dinner was definitely next.
The second Zhong Rui stepped in, he caught the unusual scent and shut the door quick.
Su Han called out casually, “You’re here? Perfect timing, dinner’s ready, come eat.”
Cai Sheng’s face lit up. He was dying to heap his bowl with noodles, but then a thought struck him. He tensed, and instead sat quietly to one side, declaring nobly, “You big shots go first. I’ll take mine last.” Reality check: moochers keep their heads down if they don’t want to get kicked out.
Su Han didn’t care in the least. “Don’t fuss about that. There’s plenty of food. If we run low, I’ll just make more.”
With that, she filled her own bowl first, noodles, broth, squid, fish, the works, and tucked in, thoroughly enjoying herself.
Zhong Rui didn’t stand on ceremony either, piling his bowl high. He brought it up, inhaled deeply, then dug in.
Cai Sheng wanted to go all out, but didn’t dare, so he meekly served himself just half a bowl.
“You paid rent, remember? Dig in.” Zhong Rui suddenly remarked, deadpan.
Cai Sheng looked up, hope bright in his eyes. “Really? I can just eat whatever I want?”
“Eat.” Zhong Rui was relaxed as ever. “We caught several fish. No way we’ll finish it all.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Cai Sheng snatched up a mound of fish fillets and ate away blissfully.
As they ate, Zhong Rui struck up conversation. “Far as I can see, the players aren’t fighting anymore. Looks like things have stabilized, at least for now.”
Su Han rolled her eyes. “Oh, that a joke? I almost got mugged on the deck, in front of everybody.”
Zhong Rui paused, realizing she had a point. He’d seen it happen with his own eyes. Why hadn’t he counted that as fighting?
Maybe because the fight finished so quick, it barely looked like a fight at all!
He adjusted, “Well… sure, there’s still the occasional scuffle, but it’s way less frequent now.”
Su Han nodded, agreeing. “Right, at least nobody’s banging on our door anymore.”
“For the next few days, let’s focus on fishing and bird hunting, make sure we’ve got enough to eat.” Zhong Rui went serious. “No telling how long the other players will behave themselves. The minute supplies run low, people are going to start fighting for whatever they need.”
Su Han nodded again. “I’ve thought about that too. Out here on the cruise, everything’s limited, water, daily essentials, you just burn through your stash. If you’re not stocked up, survival means taking from someone else.”
“Oh, here, ” Zhong Rui pulled a protective vest from his inventory and tossed it to Su Han. “For you.”
Protective Vest: When equipped, reduces melee weapon damage by 5, firearm damage by 8. (Protects torso only)
Su Han shook her head and tossed it back. “I can’t accept a gift I haven’t earned.”
Zhong Rui frowned, tossing the vest right back. “Then just consider it a thank-you for dinner.”
Su Han, exasperated, threw it back again. “It was just a couple of fish. No need for all these grand gestures.”
“Take it,” Zhong Rui insisted, unwavering.
“Stop it,” Su Han was just as stubborn.
Cai Sheng: “…”
He looked like he’d lost all will to live. This bickering was ruining his meal.
Zhong Rui took a breath, his face unusually serious, voice weighted. “Just accept it. It’s good for you, good for me. I’m happy with our situation and not looking to switch teammates.”
Su Han went silent. Why did it sound like if she took the vest, he’d owe her a life debt? This wasn’t how the plot was supposed to go. And hey, they weren’t even teammates, just slightly more familiar strangers.
With a practiced deadpan, Zhong Rui added, “If you really don’t want it, toss it away. Up to you.”
Seriously, this guy…
Left with no choice, Su Han picked up the vest and accepted the truce, “Fine, thanks.”
Zhong Rui relaxed and turned his attention back to dinner.
Cai Sheng seethed to himself, Ugh, enough with the flirting, give me a break! He channelled his outrage into devouring more food.
Once everyone was fed and satisfied, Su Han said, “Let’s sleep separately tonight.” She was worried that sharing a room with two others would mean another sleepless night.
Zhong Rui nodded in agreement, “Rooms 202 and 203 next door are empty. Cai Sheng and I can each take one. If anything comes up, just holler, we’re right next door, you’ll hear us.”
“Mm.” Su Han replied softly.
Cai Sheng knew he had no say here, so he shut up and obeied orders without complaint.
Night fell.
Su Han took advantage of the darkness to crack the window and let the breeze sweep away the instant noodle smell clinging to the room. Then she settled by the window, letting the sea air clear her head.
The situation was stable, for now. But under the surface, danger still lurked. Who really poisoned the water? Was it one person, or more? Had any of them been eliminated, or were they still hiding, waiting for the next move? Did they have more poison? Or worse, were they already plotting the next attack?
After all that thinking, Su Han still came up empty. With a sigh, she let it go. "So many mysteries," she muttered, "but for now, all I can do is take it one day at a time."