Chapter 44

After some very ‘friendly’ (questionable) negotiations, they both ‘agreed’ (somehow) that splitting up would be more fun. So Su Han slung on her backpack, grabbed her catch, and all but skipped out the door.
Meanwhile, Zhong Rui stood frozen inside the cave, storm clouds practically rolling off him.
Su Han didn’t waste any time at camp. She swiftly traded away all her hunted game for two bamboo tubes (each around twenty centimeters long, perfect for holding water) and a sizeable wicker basket.
Dragging dead animals around in a backpack is just gross, and it suffocates the poor things. But dump them in a basket? Problem solved. Way easier to carry, too.
She tucked the bamboo containers into her basket and headed straight for the woods, not a shred of hesitation.
But just as Su Han entered the trees, a clamor of footsteps echoed nearby, a whole crowd by the sound of it. Heart in her throat, she darted into a thicket to hide.
“It ran this way!”
“Quick, after it!”
“No sweat, there’s someone blocking the other side, just box it in!”
The voices sounded familiar, and Su Han couldn’t resist peeking out. To her shock, the three big guys from before were now teamed up with An Rongyue. Judging by what she heard, they’d joined forces and were hunting together.
Right then, the grunting of a wild boar piglet rang out from nearby.
Su Han glanced that way, and there were more familiar faces. The guy who fished with his shirt, plus his poor friend who’d once been forced to eat Su Han’s own questionable cuisine.
Eight people total, counting both sides.
Some wielded wooden spears. A couple had axes. Others used slingshots loaded with stones. With coordinated moves, all eight closed in on the little wild boar.
Moments later, the piglet let out one desperate squeal and crashed to the ground.
“We got it!” Cheers rang out as the group erupted in delight. It might only be a piglet, but it was still a hefty catch, plenty of meat for days.
Hoisting their prize, the squad left in high spirits, joking and laughing as they disappeared.
Su Han’s eyes glimmered, and an odd pang hit her. Alone, you’re powerless; with two, you’re stretched thin; but eight working as one? Suddenly you can take down beasts and feast like kings. Of course, now she wondered, would this alliance last, or turn bloody over the spoils…?
She shook her head to clear it, picked a random direction, and kept moving.
“Snap, ”
Su Han halted mid-step, slowly lifted her foot, and crouched down. Sweeping aside the leaves at her feet, she uncovered, unsurprisingly, a loop of rope hidden underneath. Classic snare trap: step on it, get snagged and yanked up a tree.
“Getting creative, aren’t we?” she muttered, unease prickling her skin. With the way these players were working, this forest was turning into a minefield.
She wandered on, time slipping by until suddenly, a grove of sugar maples stretched out before her.
Su Han’s eyes went wide with delight.
She rushed up without a second thought and pulled out her knife, carving into the trunk of the nearest tree.
Soon, crystal-clear sap began to dribble from the tree. Su Han quickly stuck her bamboo tube beneath it, careful not to waste a drop. The sap wasn’t gushing, but the flow was steady, filling the tube bit by bit.
This was the famed sap that only sugar maples produced, none of those impostor maples would do the trick.
The sap tasted sweet as sugar water, almost like honey, and packed a nourishing punch.
Su Han had seen this before in her survival research: a single sugar maple could yield around 40 liters of sap, 15% of which became concentrated syrup, the rest perfect for a thirst-quenching maple drink.
And best of all, even unprocessed, the sap was safe to drink straight from the tree.
While catching the sap, Su Han glanced around, running the numbers in her head. It didn’t take long to work it out, assuming most players didn’t know “maple sap is drinkable,” this whole maple grove could keep her and Zhong Rui hydrated for at least the next ten days.
Soon, one bamboo tube was filled to the brim.
Su Han screwed on the cap, swapped in another tube, and kept collecting.
The maple sap dripped more slowly now, like a wound gradually healing. Checking the tube, Su Han saw the second was nearly full, so she didn't bother digging a new hole, just waited patiently.
That was when commotion echoed from a distance.
Not wanting to expose the sugar maple secret, Su Han quickly capped the bamboo tubes, stashed them in her basket, and sat down like it was nothing, pretending she was just resting her legs.
Suddenly, a man shouted, “Stop it, quick!”
Huh? Su Han looked over, and her skin prickled. Not far away, a flower-patterned snake almost a meter long!
Stop it, my ass! Su Han didn't hesitate, backing up several quick steps.
The patterned snake slithered into the grass and vanished.
Only after that did two male players finally rush over, faces dark. One snapped, “Where's the snake?”
“How should I know?” Su Han lied smoothly, her tone calm as ever. “Haven't even seen a snake nearby.”
Saying that, she picked up her basket, about to leave.
But one of the men blocked her path, expression icy, voice aggressive. “Be honest, did you let it escape on purpose?!”
Su Han thought, That snake is highly venomous. She’d glimpsed its health bar, 75% left. Why should she risk her neck corralling a deadly snake for these two?
But her face stayed perfectly innocent. She played along to the end: “Did you personally hand me the snake to keep safe?”
The speaker was momentarily silenced.
Su Han pressed, “So what snake are you expecting me to have?”
If it were just a rabbit, maybe she’d have helped. But a snake? What kind of idiot puts themselves in danger for a random favor? Besides… she wasn't about to touch anything slimy and slithery if she could help it.
Seeing them speechless, Su Han started to edge past them, looking for an exit.
But the guys’ faces went cloud-dark again, anger mounting until one burst out, “You totally killed the snake and hid it, didn’t you?! That was our prey. Pay up for our loss, or you're not leaving!”
Su Han: “…”
She was honestly stunned at their shamelessness. The flower snake still had 75% health and clearly wasn’t caught. Since when did that make it theirs?
Now they were just trying to strong-arm her into paying. Classic bullies.
Su Han said, voice full of fake concern, “Look, I get that you want your prey. But your life’s worth more. You only lost a snake, if you keep pushing, you could lose a whole lot more.”
She had her reasons. There were only two of them, both with half their health left: 53% and 42%. She, meanwhile, was at 100%, a solid 360 points.
The two: “……”
Having their threats flipped back into a lecture was infuriating.
The men exchanged a look, fine, time to get rough. Just one girl, all alone? Should be easy work. Once they’d got her under control, they’d squeeze some “compensation” out of her. Fair’s fair, right?
What they didn’t know, Su Han, standing before them, was more dangerous than most of the guys in this game.
As the two traded signals, silently plotting, Su Han was already three steps ahead. She set down her basket, pulled a dagger from her backpack, and closed the distance in a flash, striking first!
“Holy, !” The attack came out of nowhere. The guy could barely react, scrambling to block with his machete.
But Su Han twisted his knife hand behind his back, and before he knew it, her dagger plunged into his gut.
She yanked it out, stabbed again, then drew it across his throat. In moments, he vanished into thin air.
The other man turned pale, swallowing hard, legs wobbling. Who the hell could’ve guessed this girl was such a savage?
Only now did Su Han finally vent her annoyance: “Get this straight: you’re asking a rando for help. If it’s an unreasonable ask, that rando has every right to say no. What, you think the world’s your mommy, that total strangers owe you their lives because you yelled loud enough?”
“Snake still has 75% health and you’re still calling it your prey? Why not claim every animal in the forest while you’re at it? God, at least put a cap on your shamelessness.”
“Told you already, prey may be precious, but a life’s worth more. How hard is that to understand?”
“You, ” The other guy wanted to speak, but his teeth were chattering too hard to get anything out.
Su Han couldn’t be bothered to listen. One quick swing, and she finished him cleanly. Under her breath, she sighed, “Should’ve just moved aside. Would’ve lived longer.”
The guy's face twisted in defeat as he was eliminated, so unwilling to go, he could barely rest in peace.
Su Han picked up her bamboo basket and set off to hunt.
By dusk, Su Han returned to the cave, her basket loaded down with the day’s haul.
In the center, a campfire flickered and burned.
Beside it, a new wooden rack, shaped almost like an incomplete rectangle, but with a sturdy, squared base, stood firm. A rabbit skin, roughly cleaned, was tied to the crossbar with grass rope, fluttering in the breeze to dry.
A stack of firewood crowded one corner, noticeably larger than this morning.
Two willow baskets sat side by side. Su Han peeked in and saw that one was full of her own supplies: two cartons of milk, five packs of honey, two cans of Coke, one 1L bottle of water, and four pounds of rice.
“So you considered the rice mine?” Su Han raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised.
“How would I know how to cook rice in bamboo?” Zhong Rui shot back, blunt as ever.
“The rabbit skin?”
“Lin Xinghai stuffed it on me. Can’t exactly throw it away, can I?”
“Firewood?”
“A bunch of broke players. They’ve got nothing to trade, but firewood’s at least a little useful.”
“A wooden rack?”
“Made it myself, for drying rabbit pelts.”
“A wicker basket?”
“Keeps things separated.”
They volleyed questions and answers back and forth, chatting easily and falling into step. For some reason, Su Han couldn’t help grinning.
Zhong Rui kept a stern face and reminded her, “I already ate dinner. You’re on your own tonight.”
“Sure.” Su Han responded breezily. Then she pulled a pheasant out of her bamboo basket and got to work making beggar’s chicken.
Zhong Rui, “……”
It looked mouthwateringly good.
He glowered. She had to be doing this on purpose. At lunch she tossed him a hunk of stale brown bread, but now she’s grilling herself a feast as soon as he says he’s eaten?!
She gutted the bird, slathered it in clay, then nestled it into the coals to roast. After that, Su Han sorted through her afternoon haul, some charcoal from burning trees, two rabbit pelts she got by trading game, a wooden trowel, and two sweet potatoes.
She quickly cleaned the rabbit skins, then hung them on the rack to dry.
Next, she stacked the charcoal next to the wicker basket.
The sweet potatoes were for breakfast the next morning; the trowel would be for digging pitfall traps.
Once everything was sorted and organized, the beggar’s chicken was just about done roasting.
Su Han pulled it out, cracked open the hardened clay with practiced ease, then turned to her partner: “Want some?”
Food was one thing they had in abundance, so Su Han really didn’t mind sharing.
Zhong Rui turned away, cold as ever: “No thanks. I’m full.”
“Alright then.” Su Han didn’t push, it just meant more for her. She dug in happily, alternating bites of juicy chicken with sips of sweet syrup. Living the good life.
The cave filled with the irresistible aroma of roast chicken, layered with a faint, teasing sweetness. It made your soul itch with hunger.
Zhong Rui was frustrated. Couldn’t she ask twice? He totally would have said yes, if only she’d insisted a little. Clearly, she didn’t mean it at all!