Chapter 35

In Room 428, the middle-aged man went right to work, tossing towels to everyone with practiced ease.
Zhong Rui’s mouth curved into a knowing smile. “Knew it. You guys are with Moonfall Guild.”
The middle-aged man didn’t bother denying it. “That’s right. Name’s Zhang Yixiao. This is my brother, Zhang Yihe. The round-faced guy is our buddy, Fang Jianhua, we usually just call him Fatty.”
The scholarly man, Zhang Yihe, couldn’t help putting extra emphasis in his voice. “Sure, we ended up with most of the supplies, but let me make this clear: we had absolutely nothing to do with that poisoning incident.”
Since “whoever benefits most is the most suspicious” is rule number one, plenty of players were already looking at Moonfall Guild with all kinds of side-eye. That was exactly why Zhang Yihe usually hated anyone knowing about their connection to the guild.
He had arguments at the ready, but before Zhang Yihe could even start, Zhong Rui nodded and cut him off. “I believe you.”
Zhang Yihe: “……”
He’d been ready to launch into a multi-pronged defense, only for the other guy not to give him a chance.
Su Han spoke lazily, “Moonfall Guild never threw their weight around. When I traded with you guys, you were pretty straightforward. Totally not the vibe of bullies.”
Zhang Yixiao surveyed the group, his tone low and steady. “Mind introducing yourselves? Since we’re all stuck here, might as well get to know each other and work together to clear this instance.”
“I’m Zhong Rui.” He sat down somewhere comfortable, no hesitation.
“Yang Shu.” The previously stranded youth dropped into a seat almost before he finished speaking, finally regaining a bit of composure.
“Su Han,” Su Han offered, third in line.
“An Rongyue,” An Rongyue said last.
Everyone kept their introductions short, clearly guarded, but Zhang Yixiao acted oblivious, breezing right past the tension. “We’ve gone through hell together already. Why not join forces and clear this dungeon?”
“That will depend on how much everyone’s willing to cooperate.” Zhong Rui’s lips curled up. “Why don’t you start? Tell us, how come Moonfall Guild is down to just the three of you?”
Zhang Yixiao’s expression didn’t waver. “Sure.”
He organized his thoughts before beginning slowly, “It started on the very first day of the game. After eating at the buffet, He suddenly got a stomachache, and caught the ‘poisoned’ status.”
“We investigated every possibility, and finally traced the problem to the drinking water in the buffet. Unfortunately, by the time we figured that out, tons of people had already drunk the bottled water.”
“While chaos broke out, me, He, and Fatty got targeted. There was a huge brawl, and by pure chance we discovered the cruise ship’s storage room. It was packed with food, medicine, daily necessities, everything except drinking water.”
“Since we could keep popping meds as needed, while most others were slowed down by debuffs, it was easy to gather a bunch of followers. We made a deal: we’d keep them alive with medicine until day ten, and in return, they’d follow my orders.”
Keep them alive on meds until day ten... Su Han’s face was blank, quietly thinking: This guy’s even bolder than she thought.
Zhong Rui sat there turning things over, and finally caught on. “So basically, the only real allies you’ve got are these two? The whole Moonfall Guild thing was just a name you made up.”
“Yep.” Zhang Yixiao nodded. “Everyone else was just a temp hire, brought in to keep order in the instance.”
Zhong Rui was speechless. He’d spent ages secretly researching how guilds got started in survival games... turns out it was all for show!
“So what’s with the drinking water shortage?” An Rongyue cut in, puzzled.
Zhang Yixiao explained, “Some people were low on supplies, so they worked for us. Others had extra stuff in their personal inventory, and traded bottled water with me for medicine.”
“I agreed. After that, things went smoothly, everyone coexisted just fine.”
“But one day, the study on the third floor suddenly, boom. A few people’s rooms were close by, and they got blown up. One of them was the guy with the mountain of supplies.”
Su Han: “……”
So for her, someone who only took a little splash damage from the explosion, should she be thanking her lucky stars she wasn’t taken out in the first round?
“Once we’d gotten enough drinking water, the other survivors bailed out of the instance as soon as day ten hit. Only the three of us stayed. The rest, you probably know. There are plenty of rumors about Moonfall Guild, but honestly, most of them are just stories.” Zhang Yixiao finished, calm and unhurried.
An Rongyue’s eyes flickered, her emotions all tangled up. She’d always pictured Moonfall Guild as ruthless villains, but after hearing all that, it seemed like Zhang Yixiao’s trio was just the same as anyone else, just doing whatever it took to survive.
Suddenly, the ship lurched violently beneath their feet.
All seven instantly pressed themselves against the walls, struggling not to lose their balance.
The conversation rolled on.
This time, it was Zhang Yixiao's turn to ask, "So, how did you guys survive?"
Su Han pointed lazily at Zhong Rui, her tone offhand. "We teamed up. We stockpiled enough supplies, so… made it through, simple as that."
An Rongyue's face didn't flinch. "Luck's been stuck at E-rank since we entered this instance. But fate wasn’t totally out to get me; just when I was about done for, I ran into some kind soul and bartered for what I needed. I still had food, daily necessities, bottled water in my portable storage, so I just muddled through to now."
Yang Shu shrugged. "I hid out in some dusty corner, munched and napped, and, somehow, I'm still kicking."
Everyone: "…"
Whether they actually believed any of that or not, no one was dumb enough to say otherwise. All they did was put on matching "ah, I see" faces, as if they'd bought every word.
"Whoosh, " Rain pounded down, so loud it was terrifying.
The cruise ship rocked harder and harder, but it powered through, refusing to tip, stubborn as ever!
Out of nowhere, Su Han cut in, "There're still supplies left, aren't there?"
Zhang Yixiao and his two companions stiffened, just for a moment.
Su Han's voice was even. "By my calculation, even with twenty-something people you couldn't have gone through all the onboard stock. Even if each of you loaded up your entire portable inventory, there'd still be leftovers. Point is, you can't use it all, can’t take it off the ship. Why not put it out for everyone, huh?"
Zhang Yihe stared at Su Han, surprised.
The heavyset guy gaped… then just looked down and stayed silent.
After a pause, Zhang Yixiao had to concede, "You're not wrong."
He dragged several oversized storage crates out from under the bed. "Everything's here. Take what you want."
Yang Shu and An Rongyue’s eyes lit up, they dove for the supplies, shoveling as much as they could into their own inventories.
Su Han didn’t stand on ceremony either, though her aim was clear: she only went for soap and body wash.
Food and water, she could always generate with her innate skill, so there was no rush. Daily necessities, on the other hand, were another story. In survival mode, you couldn’t exactly stroll into a store for them. The more the better, so she'd stash up every last bit if she could.
In the end, Su Han just crammed her entire portable space with full boxes of toiletries, every last inch.
The other three scrambled to pack things away; only Zhong Rui stood aside, impassive and aloof.
Zhang Yihe ambled over, trying to break the ice. "Bro, don’t be shy. None of it’s going with us anyway, grab whatever you want!"
Zhong Rui let out a sigh. "If only I could… but, "
"What’s up?" Zhang Yihe pressed, all concern.
Zhong Rui sounded painfully aggrieved. "Inventory’s full."
Full… Full… Full…
Zhang Yihe sensibly kept his mouth shut after that. No point rubbing salt in the wound.
The rain didn’t let up for a second, and soon the sea crept over both the first and second decks. But, incredibly, despite the gale and downpour, the ship never so much as threatened to capsize.
All seven survivors were running on nerves-up-to-eleven, but time crawled along with wicked slowness, the longest day of their lives, each hour stretching impossibly thin. At least, when it was over, day eleven closed in (relative) safety.
The next morning, clear skies. The storm had vanished as abruptly as it had appeared. After a whole day of chaos, the cruise ship bobbed calmly in the gentle blue again.
Su Han couldn't help blurting out, "What the, ? That monster storm lasted only a day?!"
An Rongyue, pale as a ghost, deadpanned, "One day wasn’t enough?" The ship’s endless pitching had finally sent her running to hurl.
Su Han fell silent. If she knew anything about this system, it was that things only got harder the longer they lasted. There was no way it would suddenly show mercy and give them an easy ride. If the storm was already over… that just meant the next disaster was waiting to pounce.
And, right on cue, at precisely nine o'clock, the system’s cold mechanical voice sliced through the air: "Day 12 of the game."
"A crew of pirates has discovered the location of the C23 cruise ship and is closing in at full speed, planning to raid and kill. Estimated time to encounter: six hours."
"Note 1: The pirate crew consists of fifty men, sailing on a medium wooden ship."
"Note 2: The pirate ship’s location is now marked on the navigation map. Players may pilot the cruise ship away from the pirates’ approach."
"Note 3: If the pirates lose thirty or more men, or if their hull armor is reduced by fifty percent (armor functions as HP), they’ll retreat. If they're unable to overtake the C23 within four hours, they’ll abandon the chase."
An Rongyue’s voice was wooden. "So, here's the million-dollar question: does anyone actually know how to pilot this thing?"
Su Han’s brows knitted tight. "Wouldn’t matter if you did. After that explosion, the ship’s controls are probably shot."
"So you’re saying…the only way out is to face off head-on?" An Rongyue glanced around at everyone, searching for a glimmer of hope or confidence on their faces. No luck; every single one of them looked absolutely lost.
Dead silence swallowed the room.
After a long moment, Zhong Rui finally spoke up, slowly, "It's not totally hopeless. Look at the wording: the system said the pirates learned about the cruise ship’s location. If we abandon ship now and bail, chances are we’ll skip running into them entirely."
But if they did that, it meant four more days drifting out on the open sea.
Just remembering that two-day drift after the second instance had Zhong Rui’s muscles cramping, back then, he couldn’t stretch his legs, couldn’t even rest his arms. Two days of sitting on a tiny raft, nowhere to sleep, nowhere to move, it’d been a waking nightmare.
Last time, he’d come out with limbs so stiff he could barely walk. Imagining four days this time made him shudder, it’d probably break him.
If at all possible, Zhong Rui would do anything to avoid going through that boat-drift hell again. But if this was the only shot at clearing the instance, well… he'd just grit his teeth and deal with it.
Su Han’s eyes glittered, as if she’d just remembered something. Her lips curled in a bright, confident smile. "What if we stand our ground? Think about it, facing them head-on, maybe we actually have a shot."
Everyone: "…"
Yang Shu stared at her blankly. "Seven versus fifty? We, have a shot?" Was she sure she hadn’t swapped the subject and object around?
An Rongyue gawked at Su Han in disbelief. For a girl, she was ten times crazier than any guy in the room.