Chapter 41

Chapter 41

At this moment, Ji Xinghai, whose innocence was being worried about by others, had already upgraded his shotgun, bullets, and nail gun. He yawned, used the hotel's toothpaste and toothbrush set along with cotton towels to clean his teeth and face, then adjusted his seat angle, covered himself with a double-layered silk blanket, and closed his eyes.

It was dark, time for sleep.

"Oh, he looks like an angel when he sleeps~"

"But, isn't Brother Hai just going to sleep like this? Isn't he setting up any traps?"

"Duh, with Brother Hai here, monsters within twenty miles have to migrate; who would dare to trigger any traps? The two dolls in the car are a cautionary tale."

Only in this live stream could viewers exchange witty remarks so casually. There was no need to worry about some unforeseen risk that they couldn't handle appearing at any second.

Thus, more and more people appeared and stayed.

But this also brought about a problem: the live stream was a mix of all kinds of people.

"The fifth monster has died, but that student lost an arm and is in dire straits. Despite their efforts, this scenario still favors the strong."

"Come on, it's survival of the fittest, elimination of the unfit. Do you think the Hungry Academy is a charity? Can those bleeding hearts up there please find a rope and hang themselves? Do they think others can't see through their roundabout ways?"

"Check out this ID, wonder what kind of dog food they've been eating."

Ji Xinghai was JiuZhou's precious talent, their only gem. Could his live stream not be monitored at all times? Posting such bizarre comments, one was either stupid or malicious. But regardless, the crime of making detrimental statements against the country couldn't be avoided, and in severe cases, even family members would be affected.

In turbulent times, harsh laws were used. Were they still living in the era of peace?

Outside the exam hall, there were always undercurrents, but inside, Ji Xinghai slept soundly until five in the morning.

Today was hotter than yesterday. The sun hadn't yet emerged from the clouds, but the car had already turned into a steamer.

If it was this hot in the forest, how much hotter was it outside? This change in temperature was indeed quite abnormal.

He opened the window to ventilate, then checked his mission watch. Over thirty people had disconnected during the night. It seemed everyone's nightlife was quite eventful.

After washing up and having breakfast, he sat down to look at the map.

He needed to go to the repair shop first; upgrading his vehicle was the top priority.

"Bing."

The watch vibrated, and he subconsciously glanced at the time: six o'clock sharp. A new notification popped up: To enhance cooperation and communication among students, a regional network for instant messaging and trading has been opened. Students' initial IDs are their real names, with one chance to change them.

"...Really playing games, huh?"

The students discovered this newly added feature and were excited to finally come into contact with 'peers.' Ji Xinghai saw messages flashing on the aerial projection, several per second.

Thunderfire: What happened? Many students went offline yesterday; was there something unexpected at night?

Barbara: I don't know, I didn't dare leave the motel.

Night Disguiser: Unexpected? Perhaps. If you want to know, try spending the night outdoors tonight. By the way, does anyone have extra gasoline? I can trade food for it; interested parties, message me privately.

Great Witch: It's so hot, does anyone have a beginner car upgrade coupon?

Zone Seven: Why doesn't the motel experience voucher include breakfast? That's unfair; all experience vouchers should include breakfast.

The students were very satisfied with this newly introduced function; they seemed to have endless desires to vent. But no one mentioned the crucial 'Federation Monster Legend' that roamed at night and the quarter Ark ticket, despite the fact that many students successfully hunted monsters yesterday.

They wanted to cooperate but also had to guard against each other; this was the current state of the students.

Ji Xinghai manually turned off the projection screen and turned on the radio. His luck was really good; it was soothing country music, perfectly matching the natural scenery of the forest on both sides.

He leaned lazily against the window, one hand supporting his cheek, the other turning the steering wheel as the car drove towards the unknown distance.

From the abandoned camping site to the road outside the forest, if taking the normal route, it would take at least three to four hours, but when the car actually hit the road, he found that the winding lanes had been straightened.

The creature guarding this forest had shed tears while working overtime overnight, compressing a few hours of driving into just one hour.

He lightly tapped the steering wheel, smiling enigmonymously.

"So the environment can change according to needs. Does this count as disrupting the fairness of the exam...?" Ji Xinghai seemed to be talking to himself, and the audience didn't know what he was referring to, except for that existence.

Soon the car left the forest. With one hand on the steering wheel, he looked back; the forest was silent. The entity controlling this area did not appear, and instead, waves of heat greeted him ahead.

Leaving the forest and turning onto the main road, he soon arrived at a small town. On either side of the gray roads stood high and low countryside villas, and there were people walking around, but there were no birds, no cats or dogs, no traces of other animals.

Even if one looked closely, they could find that two NPCs shared the same model face, with only slight differences in hair and beard, which was quite careless.

Following the map's instructions, he took a few turns and entered the central area of the town, where he could see a building surrounded by tall trees. It was the motel, with a very prominent sign on its signboard.

His car slowed down, and his gaze shifted to the motel on one side.

It was a motel shaped like a car head. Dark red rust marks hung everywhere on the white walls, giving it an old appearance. In the floral iron gate of the motel, a student's broken car was parked. Although it had been there for at most one night, it was covered in dust and looked even more dilapidated, as if it had been abandoned for a long time.

Ji Xinghai's gaze slowly swept over the motel.

Under the morning sunlight, the motel's white walls and orange tiles looked bright and sunny. Through the entrance, one could see the staff yawning behind the counter and the gardener watering the flower beds at the door, without a trace of gloom.

However, as his gaze slowly moved upward, stopping at the corner room on the left, he saw a window with a curtain slightly pulled aside. A blurry male silhouette stood there, slowly waving at him.

Behind that silhouette was another even blurrier white silhouette, and they were close together.

Retracting his gaze, Ji Xinghai pressed the accelerator and passed by the motel, continuing towards his destination.

In fact, the car repair shop wasn't far from this motel. He bypassed the car restaurant shaped like a hamburger bun in the middle and drove into the open garage of the repair shop.

Just then, a restored student's car drove out.

The compact car was painted in a delightful shade of orange soda, its exterior and interior looking brand new, with the fuel cap securely in its rightful place.

Yet, in terms of shape and detail, it bore no fundamental difference from the car Ji Xinghai was currently driving; both had that awkward, truncated appearance.

'Is this the result of using the Car Repair Card?' he wondered.

"Hello! Are you a trainee? Of course, there's no doubt about it, you must be," a young woman with dark skin popped her head out of the car window, waving enthusiastically at Ji Xinghai. "You're the second trainee I've seen. There was another one from Country S, but he hadn't come out yet when I left. I didn't see you yesterday. You didn't stay at the motel?"

She looked surprised and pulled out a map to check again. "Are there other motels nearby?" When Ji Xinghai was well-fed and in good spirits, he was quite amiable, not getting upset even when probed. So, he smiled back. "I came from the forest. There's an abandoned camping site there."

"Did you encounter any trouble? Sorry, what I mean is, I heard things aren't very peaceful outside. The motel attendant grinned and said, 'You're lucky, lady, you can sleep soundly tonight.' I guess something must have happened." She mimicked the exaggerated tone of the attendant, gesturing wildly.

"It was indeed a bit unexpected, a killer bear and spiders, but nothing major. How was your night at the motel? Mind sharing?"

"Not at all, not at all." Her eyes flickered at the mention of 'killer bear' and 'spiders,' then she smiled and told Ji Xinghai about her experience at the motel last night.

It was just the usual process of checking into a motel, except here, you either needed a one-day experience ticket for the motel or 10 points.

"Come on, who would waste 10 points on accommodation? And in such a shabby old place without even an en suite bathroom." She couldn't help but complain.

Ji Xinghai, who only had one point, nodded in agreement.

"Didn't hear anything strange last night?"

A hint of unease flashed across the woman's face before she quickly masked it. "No, although the room had a bit of a musty smell, it was quiet. But it's normal for places like that, where few people stay, to have some mold."

The two cars, one new and one old, stayed at the car repair shop for about five minutes. After exchanging information, they waved goodbye to each other.

The woman drove off in her repaired orange car, her face no longer bearing that overly enthusiastic smile. She muttered to herself, "…no signs of lying, but can't rule out misleading information. Seems like the danger level outdoors…"

Ji Xinghai drove his car into the repair shop. The woman's words confirmed some suspicions, but that was all.

"Repair, full upgrade, and upgrade the chassis."

After the car entered the repair shop, a man in blue overalls came out. Ji Xinghai handed him three cards directly.

The man's eyes widened slightly, then his smile became particularly warm. "Does the customer have any special requests for the car's paint color, interior soft furnishings, fragrance, etc.?"

"No."

"Alright, please wait comfortably in the lounge for ten minutes. We'll be done soon."

He grabbed the two stuffed toys and got out of the car, sitting down on a white plastic chair under a nearby canopy. Someone even came over to pour him a glass of water, the service was impeccable.

His clattering, seemingly on the verge of breaking down car was driven behind a gray tarp. From Ji Xinghai's perspective, he could see the corner of the tarp lifted, revealing a dim environment with no machinery in sight.

'Sorry, due to limited funds…' It seemed like he could hear the common excuse from game companies echoing in his ears.

After the car went in, the gray tarp was closed again. Inside, there were sounds of various machines being operated. Ji Xinghai drank his water silently, wondering where this sound effect was copied from.

Soon, a navy blue car slowly emerged from inside.

"Wow!" The audience was impressed.