Chapter 53

Even so, the feeling of anxiety just wouldn’t fade. Yu Baowen couldn’t help sneaking a peek at her teammate, look at that composure! Can’t find a steady water source, and she’s still cool as ice, totally unfazed. If that isn’t confidence in her own skills, what is?
What she didn’t know was that Su Han’s calm came entirely from her overstocked supply hoard… If she only had three days’ rations, she’d be the most panicked one of all, desperately trying to cram her inventory with anything edible.
Su Han, oblivious to her temp teammate’s thoughts, looked around and grew thoughtful. “You know, once you’ve lived in a city long enough, you barely even notice how dependent you are on basic infrastructure. Everything feels like it should just… exist. Like it could never vanish.”
“It’s only when disaster hits that people finally realize, nothing in life comes guaranteed.”
“Government services actually make life ridiculously convenient. Take all that away, and people would really struggle.”
“No one wakes up until disaster knocks on their door,” Yu Baowen said seriously. “Try warning them ahead of time? You’ll just get laughed at for being a paranoid worrywart.”
Su Han turned away, realizing her teammate was a person with a story.
Yu Baowen shrugged and said flatly, “I’ve always been the prepper type. There’s a go-bag ready at my place, always. Not that it stopped everyone around me from mocking me. I honestly don’t know why, it’s like nobody gets the point of planning ahead.”
A go-bag, a tactical backpack, packed with everything you’d need to make a run for it. When things go sideways, grab and go.
Su Han thought to herself, There are survival maniacs everywhere. Like me. Like Yu Baowen.
“If disaster does come, the people who laughed at you will look like complete idiots. But if nothing happens for decades and life stays peaceful, everyone else will say you’re the clown,” Su Han sighed. “People always judge by outcomes. If everything turns out okay, then all’s well that ends well. But all this prepping, we do it for that moment when the unexpected strikes, so we’re not left helpless.”
“Exactly!” Yu Baowen felt like she’d found a soulmate. She got fired up: “Buying insurance isn’t because you want an accident to happen. Nobody hopes for misfortune. You buy it so if something does happen, you’re not totally screwed!”
Accidents don’t care about anyone’s wishes, after all.
After saying all that, Yu Baowen realized she’d gotten a little too worked up. Taking a breath, she tried to steady her tone. “There are just so many of those kinds of idiots around me. No matter how you explain it, they’ll never get it. Finally meeting someone who understands, I got a bit carried away.”
“I get you,” Su Han smiled, then added, “Take a break first. When you’re ready, let’s go find that lake together.”
“Deal.” Yu Baowen agreed without hesitation.
Rested, fed, and recharged, the two of them headed out to start searching for the lake.
The instance was huge, and without a map, finding specific spots was tricky. So, as they walked, they made markers along the way to keep from getting lost.
But just as they crossed the second street, a young guy ambled up to them with a big grin. “Hey, need anything?”
Su Han gave him a cold once-over. “Depends. What do you got?”
The guy puffed up his chest, pride written all over his face. “Rumors, food, water, fuel, daily necessities, you name it, I can get it!”
Yu Baowen and Su Han exchanged a look. If there was someone here who knew where the lake was, maybe they could skip the whole wild goose chase.
Yu Baowen was about to dig into her pocket, but Su Han stopped her.
Su Han casually pulled out a lighter, the emptiest one from her portable storage, and said, “I’ll trade for intel. Where’s the nearest lake or river? Payment’s this lighter.”
The young man’s eyes nearly lit up like headlights. He barely kept his excitement contained. “You’re asking the right guy! I know this place like the back of my hand!”
He pointed. “Closest lake’s that way. Just a ten-minute walk and you’ll see it.”
“Thanks.” Su Han tossed him the lighter without looking back.
“Come by again!” The guy caught it with a greedy smile stretching ear to ear.
The two kept moving.
Lowering her voice, Yu Baowen muttered, “Why’d you stop me from paying?”
Su Han replied offhandedly, “In this instance, lighters and bleach are worth way more than you’d think. Yours are all brand new, super conspicuous. The one I tossed only has a third of the fuel left. Less of a headache if someone’s watching.”
“Fair.” Since it was a safety issue, Yu Baowen didn’t argue.
But after a few minutes, she frowned. “Wait, the water-fetcher we bumped into before? He wasn't coming from this direction.”
“Probably took the long way around to stay safe,” Su Han guessed. “And anyway, you think that guy would go through this much trouble to scam us over a third-used lighter?”
Just as she finished, five tough-looking guys blocked their path up ahead.
Glancing back, three more young men cut off the way they’d come, the leader was none other than the grinning guy from earlier.
Yu Baowen, “…”
Su Han, “…”
Of all the ridiculous things, people actually this desperate? Even a half-dead lighter makes you a target!
The young man flashed a toothy grin, his expression going cold. “Main job: broker. Side gig: bandit. If you’re smart, hand over your bags and I’ll let you live.”
Su Han whispered urgently, “We split up when I say go!”
Without hesitation, she whipped out another used lighter and lobbed it into the bushes.
“The lighter!” someone cried, as if their mother’s priceless jade had just been smashed into pieces.
“Go!” Su Han barked.
They both darted for the three blocking the way out. At the same time, Su Han threw another battered lighter into the bushes, and Yu Baowen chucked one on the other side.
“Stop them! Those two are a goldmine!” the young man yelled, voice cracking in desperation.
But his teammates ignored him, breaking into a sprint to chase down the dropped lighters.
Su Han broke left, Yu Baowen right. The young man tried to snag both at once, but they slipped away like eels, he couldn’t catch a single one.
When he finally turned around, he realized he was the only one still there. Everyone else had abandoned the pursuit, too busy scrambling after those tossed lighters.
Furious, he cursed, “Bunch of idiots! Those two are walking jackpots! Hold onto them and we could get all the lighters we want!”
Someone muttered under their breath, "If we've found a lighter, why bother with risky muggings? That's enough to eat and drink well for days."
After all, if you toss out a lighter and someone finds it, they can pocket it for themselves, private treasure. Tie someone up? No guarantee they've got anything else worth taking.
"Useless, useless!" The young man stomped his feet, clearly itching to punch someone. But with the group so disorganized, no one listened to orders, and there was nothing he could do about it.
By the time he thought to chase them, it was already too late. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed and joined the others searching the grass.
Meanwhile, Su Han and Yu Baowen sprinted for their lives, only daring to stop once they’d run a good distance away.
Su Han was breathless, feeling like she’d just brushed shoulders with death, this was the closest she’d ever come to dying, and only by sheer luck did she escape.
Yu Baowen was panting hard, managing only broken sentences. "Never in my life did I think... I’d almost get eliminated... because of a stupid lighter." Her face was a picture of disbelief, as if her worldview had been shattered on the spot.
Su Han tried to steady her breath, her emotions in a tangled mess. "I’ve tried so hard not to stand out. Who knew these people were so shameless? The moment they saw a secondhand lighter, their greed went wild."
If she had to sum it up, it was like being mugged for ten bucks, and nearly losing her life over it…
"This fifth instance is brutal," Yu Baowen said, still rattled. "Every single day since entering the game, I feel like I'm being chased to my death. One wrong move and poof, game over."
Su Han dropped down to rest, feeling utterly drained. After a while, when she'd caught her breath, she sighed, "Let’s head back," sounding a thousand years old all of a sudden.
Yu Baowen had no desire to linger outside either. Hearing that, she sped up her steps and headed back.
That night, after a dinner of piping hot roasted potatoes, Su Han curled up in the corner to rest and strategize.
Bit by bit, her interest in venturing out began to evaporate. Getting surrounded by eight people was nerve-wracking enough; once was more than enough for her, thanks. Besides, with plenty of supplies, getting eliminated due to some random accident? That was just too humiliating!
So now she was seriously weighing her options: how could she convince Yu Baowen to stay put? If they just couldn’t agree, she’d have no choice but to ditch this temporary teammate.
For some reason, Su Han suddenly thought of Zhong Rui. If only Zhong Rui were here as her teammate! Both of them were hard-core hoarders and knew each other’s limits, no need for tiptoeing or euphemisms. Plus, Zhong Rui’s inventory was always stuffed fuller than hers; he’d get exactly why she felt so exasperated!
She cycled through excuse after excuse, shooting down every one. Eventually, Su Han closed her eyes and drifted off, her breathing slowing by degrees.
Yu Baowen, on the other hand, lay with a furrowed brow, restless and unable to relax. After several deep breaths, she barely managed to steady herself, forcing sleep, there was still so much left to do tomorrow, and she needed all the energy she could get!
Midnight. Outside, the sound of gentle rain began to fall, pattering steadily on the roof.
Su Han fluttered her eyelids, then, as if nothing had happened at all, went right back to sleep.
The next moment, Yu Baowen’s eyes flew open. She looked out the window in delight, her face lighting up as she confirmed it was raining. Grinning wide and flashing her little canine teeth, she couldn’t wait, she bounced to her feet.
Inside, most of the wooden furniture had already been burned for firewood, but a handful of household items remained, plastic basins, a kettle for boiling water, that sort of thing.
Yu Baowen held her breath, tiptoed her way around, and gathered all the plastic basins she could find. Then, giddy, she hurried outside to collect rainwater.
The following morning, when Su Han woke, she stared, speechless, at the several basins of water lined up in the room. "What’s all this?"
"I collected rainwater! It rained last night and only stopped this morning," Yu Baowen said cheerfully.
Su Han was silent for a long moment before she couldn’t help but ask, "Are you planning to just... drink it straight?"
Yu Baowen didn’t seem to care. "Still cleaner than muddy river water, that’s for sure."
She’d once read a memoir where a survivor of war said, "To make it through tough times, sometimes you have to drink green water, or even brown."
By comparison, things weren’t so bad right now.
Su Han was utterly speechless.
It wasn’t exactly wrong for Yu Baowen to do this. When it comes to survival, you grit your teeth and get through whatever you have to, no matter how rough it gets. In a way, she admired the girl for being so tough and relentless.
But still…
Su Han deadpanned to herself. When there was plenty of clean drinking water, did they really have to go this far? Rainwater could be full of microbes; you’d need to disinfect it before feeling safe to drink.
And if you weren’t going to drink all that water right away, it needed to be stored in sealed containers. Leave it sitting out in the open, and before long, it’d stink and turn green.
But the two of them were more acquaintances than friends, definitely not close enough to lay all their cards on the table or bare their hearts. For a moment, Su Han just sat there, stumped.