Chapter 61 Desert Survival 1

Chapter 61 Survival in the Desert (1)

There were also countless other posts, such as—

“I had food, drinking water, and daily necessities, but I just couldn’t last until Day 15! On Day 12, dozens of soldiers surrounded me. What else could I do besides quit the instance? If dozens of them shot at me at once, I’d be out of the game for good!”

“Ever since playing this survival game, I’ve gained a deep understanding of what it means to endure hunger and cold, and how everything else becomes trivial in the face of life and death. Just to get a bite to eat or a sip of water, I had to use every last bit of strength in my body! When I got home and had hotpot, I almost cried from excitement. Peaceful society is wonderful—I love my country.”

“Getting assigned to a crappy server is exhausting. If there’s no supplies, you have to rob other players or NPCs. The infighting is especially severe. By Day 10, there were only 4,000 survivors left in the city. The enemy soldiers just casually gestured and wiped everyone out.”

“I was lucky enough to find a white supply crate, but I didn’t know what bleach was for and almost died of thirst… I really feel like the game is too unfriendly to disadvantaged (or mentally challenged) players.”

“Whether NPCs or players, all the survivors in the city were fleeing while the enemy soldiers were just carrying out a one-sided slaughter. How is this game even playable?”

“I heard that hoarding gold and jewelry in the late stages of the instance could make you a big shot in one go, so I eagerly stockpiled a lot. But two rounds of the game have passed, and I’m now just one step away from elimination. Where’s the promised ‘big shot’ status?”

“I’ve come to realize that without a Portable Storage, the difficulty of this trash game is SS-rank. When I first entered the game, I actually had a chance to buy one, but I had a momentary lapse of judgment… Speechless. Just tears.”

“Would you believe I got robbed and murdered over a half-empty used lighter?”

“Because of a single bottle of household bleach, I was ambushed by a gang of ten and almost died. What kind of world is this?”

...

Countless heart-wrenching tales were recounted one by one, truly gut-wrenching to read.

Just then, a bragging post suddenly appeared: “I beat the fifth round, but I’m no pro. There were 187 players who cleared it in my server, and many of them were ridiculously OP! From Day 12 onward, every soldier that entered the city was wiped out daily—none were left overnight! I hid in the ruins and watched them slaughter everything every day.”

Su Han immediately recognized this as a player from her own server who had reaped many benefits by following behind, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.

After browsing through more posts and finding nothing particularly useful, she switched to the Survivalist Forum.

As it turned out, those who had studied survival skills were on a completely different level! The comrades on the Survivalist Forum were still fighting tenaciously on the frontlines of the game!

“I found a type of water-storing bamboo. Just cut a hole in one end of the bamboo segment, pour the water into a bowl, and you can drink it. The water inside isn’t just clean—it even has a faint bamboo fragrance. Tastes amazing!”

“Getting water isn’t that hard—just use plant condensation! Cover a branch with a plastic bag, tie the opening tightly, and wrap a lot of leaves inside the bag. The water evaporated by the plant every day will all be collected by the bag. Am I lying about easily collecting 10–15 kg of water a day?”

“Dandelions, purple perilla, plantain, bamboo shoots, field lettuce… There are so many edible plants! Honestly, with a bit of survival knowledge, making it to Day 10 isn’t tough since the system provides so many resource points.”

“Exactly, passing is easy because you can survive on your own. Clearing is hard because you need teammates in the same server who aren’t deadwood to cooperate. After five rounds, I’ve only cleared twice. Why? Because there are too many noobs in the game!”

“Every time I browse the Survivalist Forum, I can’t help but doubt the general skill level. Do you need to pass five rounds to even call yourself a Survivalist Forum member? Do you need to clear once to qualify as a senior member? For top players, does it take at least three clears? Sorry, I got eliminated in the third round and seriously dragged everyone down. I’ll go sulk in the corner.”

Someone else said, “The Unlimited Survival Game has truly opened my eyes. At first, I blindly guessed over a dozen types of apocalyptic settings, confidently claiming I’d hit the mark. But now, after five rounds, all my guesses have been successfully avoided… I’m genuinely impressed.”

Su Han snorted.

She browsed the forum for a while longer, then dug through online resources to study on her own. At exactly 10 p.m., she went to bed on time.

The next morning at 7:50, Su Han logged in early, waiting for the sixth round of the game to begin.

**

A mechanical voice announced, “Welcome to 'Unlimited Survival Game.' You currently have 125 points. Would you like to enter the item shop to shop?”

Su Han immediately selected “Yes.” The store panel appeared the next second, and after a careful look, she decided to restock ammo first, then purchase medicine.

Before entering the game, Su Han had carefully considered what items to buy. However, she wasn’t lacking in food, drinking water, or daily necessities, and her tools were sufficient for now, so there wasn’t anything urgent to restock.

The 69 bags of steel pellets were down to just 5, but Su Han didn’t plan to replenish them. Next, she intended to hoard guns and medicine in large quantities.

Seeing that today's rationed items were landmines and sea mines, she dismissed the idea of rushing to buy them and instead focused wholeheartedly on purchasing bullets and medicine.

After precise calculations, Su Han spent all 125 credits and closed the panel.

The system asked, "Preparations are complete. Does the player wish to enter the dungeon now?"

Without hesitation, Su Han chose, "Yes."

A flash of white light later, Su Han officially entered the sixth dungeon.

**

Dust clouds filled the air, the sun beat down mercilessly, and a blast of heat hit her.

While surveying her surroundings, Su Han listened to the system's introduction: "This round is a survival game set in a desert. Players must fight to survive."

"Note 1: After surviving for 10 days, players meet the completion requirement and may request to leave the dungeon at any time."

"Note 2: If health reaches zero, the character dies, and the player is eliminated from the game."

"Note 3: The longer the survival period, the better the completion rewards."

"Note 4: If players complete the bonus challenge—surviving for 15 days in the dungeon—they will receive additional rewards. After 15 days, surviving players will be automatically transported out."

"Note 5: F12 Desert (the player's current server) has a total of 2,000 players and 2,000 Resident NPCs."

"Note 6: The game begins now."

Hot! So hot!

The relentless sun beat down directly on her body, and Su Han's forehead immediately broke out in a thin sheen of sweat. At the same time, she felt a burning sensation on her skin, as if she were sizzling on a griddle.

"Desert survival..." Su Han took a deep breath, quickly calmed herself, and began strategizing.

Surveying her surroundings, she chose a nearby flat patch of desert, set up a tent, and crawled inside.

Without direct sunlight, the felt temperature finally became somewhat bearable. Su Han then took out white bandages from her Portable Storage and wrapped them tightly over her exposed skin.

Desert temperatures swing wildly, and intense sunlight is harmful to the skin. Therefore, if one knew in advance they would be venturing into a desert, they should prepare hats, proper footwear, and long-sleeved clothing.

Su Han hadn't known beforehand. She was wearing long pants and a short-sleeved shirt, with no hat, and her Portable Storage was stocked mostly with winter clothing. So she made do by using bandages to cover all exposed skin, effectively turning her outfit into long sleeves.

After bundling up like a mummy, she dug out strips of cloth and wound them around her head. Soon, her head was thoroughly protected, as if she were wearing a headscarf.

With all this done, Su Han finally felt at ease. At the same time, she continued thinking. In the desert, the rule is "move at night, rest by day." In other words, moving around in the midday heat is dangerous.

This is mainly because desert temperatures swing wildly. Daytime temperatures can easily reach 35°C–40°C, while nighttime temperatures drop below freezing.

After a long while, Su Han sighed softly, "No matter how I think about it, this dungeon will be tough."

At exactly 9 o'clock, the system's mechanical voice announced, "Day 1 begins."

As soon as the words were spoken, a piece of black bread and a bottle of milk appeared in her Portable Storage.

Su Han calmly drank the milk and quietly waited for nightfall.

**

The air was dry, and she wasn't about to cause trouble.

Su Han stayed curled up in her tent to stay cool—when it was this hot, she could barely lift a finger. She considered taking out the ice stored in her Portable Storage but felt the limited supply wouldn’t last 15 days. If she used up all the ice in the first two days, the remaining time would be unbearable. So she gritted her teeth and forced herself to endure the heat.

Time passed second by second, and to Su Han, every second dragged on forever.

At that moment, a hoarse male voice came from outside the tent, "Is anyone in there?"

Su Han opened her eyes, unzipped the tent, and calmly asked, "What is it?"

A man stood outside, wearing a backpack slung over his shoulder and a short-sleeved shirt. He was drenched in sweat, his exposed skin glistening, and his voice weak. "I was wondering if you could tell me—is there an oasis nearby?"

"No clue," Su Han shook her head.

"Can I come in and take shelter from the sun?" The man's eyes were pleading.

But Su Han refused. "Not happening." Only when she was alone could she rest and recover her stamina without worry. The survival scenario already left her stretched thin—she had no energy for charity cases.

"Then—then could you spare some drinking water?" the man hurriedly added. "I’ll trade you gemstones! No joke!"

Su Han’s eyes flickered slightly. Trading jewels for H₂O? So he was a player.

Ever since the shipwreck survival game, the system had stopped providing supply opportunities, rendering bling worthless. Some had begun to see them as junk and were eager to trade them for urgently needed items.

Honestly, that was dumb long-term…

Su Han lowered her gaze, wondering—or perhaps his situation was so dire that he couldn’t afford to plan ahead? Survival now was all that mattered?

Seeing her prolonged silence, the man grew anxious. "No joke! One gemstone for one bottle of water!"

Su Han just stared.

But then the man gritted his teeth and amended, "If that’s not enough, two gemstones for one bottle!"

Dude wasn't taking hints.

Considering that two gemstones for one bottle was a sweet deal, and she had plenty of water stocked up with no risk of shortage, she finally agreed. "Fine, let’s trade." She handed over five bottles of water.

The deal done, the man chugged half the bottle, instantly feeling refreshed, then bounced off looking pleased.

Su Han zipped up the tent and settled back inside, only then realizing she’d forgotten to warn him that the midday heat would wreck him—excessive sweating could lead to dehydration.

But after a second thought, she decided it was better not to say anything. If he took her advice and stayed nearby, she’d be stuck watching her back.

Weighing her options, Su Han slowly closed her eyes and crashed again.

Half an hour later, a man and a woman arrived together, asking for directions.

Fifty minutes later, another traveler, looking half-dead from dehydration, croaked out a plea, offering agate, jade, and pearls in exchange for food and water.

An hour and a half later, Su Han was woken up for the third time. When she opened her eyes, she was seeing red—she was ready to throw hands.

Author’s note: Some research went into this.

For those asking why there’s only one reward, go reread Choice B.