Chapter 100 Nuclear Radiation 3

Chapter 100: Radiation Crisis, Part 3

Suddenly, Su Han frowned, wondering why part of the two men's health bars appeared grayed-out. The one with mild injuries had a smaller gray area, while the one with moderate injuries had a significantly larger grayed-out portion.

"What are you staring at? Hurry up and pack the medicine into the bags!" one of the robbers snarled. Then, he fired a shot into the ceiling for intimidation.

There were two clerks in the pharmacy who unhurriedly gathered the bags and dumped all the meds inside.

"Move faster!" the robber shouted impatiently.

Su Han stood by, watching the show as if it had nothing to do with her—to beat the level, she needed to pop pills like candy. No matter how much she had stored in her Portable Storage, it was never enough, leaving none to spare for fights. So she kept her mouth shut, calmly observing the robbery.

As for Zhong Rui, he leisurely watched the entire robbery unfold while contemplating that if these two somehow succeeded, he wouldn’t mind taking them out.

Unfortunately, the moment such thoughts crossed his mind, laser sights appeared on the robbers' foreheads.

Snipers! Zhong Rui grabbed his companion and pulled back.

"Bang—bang—bang—" Gunshots rang out simultaneously from different directions. Within seconds, the two robbers disintegrated into light and vanished.

Su Han's face stayed impassive as she suddenly recalled the landlady’s warning: "Remember, don’t cause trouble. All shops in the underground plaza are protected—they have serious connections."

With multiple snipers ambushing them, the backing was indeed formidable.

After the robbers disappeared, the snipers vanished without a trace.

The clerks went back to looking bored, retrieving and reorganizing the medicine.

The manager appeared at just the right moment, bringing the 10 iodine packets.

Everyone acted as if nothing had happened, cool as cucumbers.

Su Han lowered her gaze, reflecting. NPCs had always had decent attack power—their weakness lay in their low stamina. Now, with players affected by radiation, their stamina wasn’t much higher either, rapidly closing the gap between the two sides. As a result, NPCs who were once negligible had become dangerous.

"Here’s your iodine. Have a nice day," the manager politely handed over the medicine.

Zhong Rui took it and asked his companion, "What else do you want to buy?"

Su Han shook her head. "Nothing."

Zhong Rui cocked his head. "Then why did you come to the pharmacy?"

Su Han tried to explain, but it was complicated. In the end, she simply replied, "I came specifically to find you."

Zhong Rui couldn’t help grinning. Clearing his throat, he continued, "So, what’s the plan now?"

Su Han had originally been ambitious, but now she increasingly wanted to return to the landlady, rely on medicine to survive until the tenth day, and then leave the instance.

"I wanted to stay in the underground plaza to slow down stamina depletion," Su Han lamented. "But I heard that before 5 p.m., all non-mall staff must leave, so I gave up."

"Why not stay with me?" Zhong Rui extended an invitation.

Su Han glanced at him sideways. "You have a place? How’d you manage that?"

Zhong Rui chuckled. "These days, if you have food and medicine, is there anything you can’t get?"

Su Han thought about it and realized he had a point.

"You in?" Zhong Rui invited again.

"Let's go." Su Han didn't hesitate. "Living with NPCs is always kind of awkward." Not to mention the daily rent payments.

"Exactly. Staying together means we can look out for each other," Zhong Rui said with complete seriousness.

Once decided, Su Han went out of her way to go back to the entrance to meet the landlady and explain the situation. Though the old lady had said she wouldn’t wait, Su Han was worried she might be stubborn yet soft-hearted, waiting there indefinitely.

Upon learning her tenant had found a relative, the landlady went quiet. She wanted to say something, but after seeing the "relative" in person, she gave up on persuasion entirely. Relative? Yeah right, more like her boyfriend!

"Then goodbye," the landlady said decisively.

Su Han pressed two bottles of milk into her hands and thanked her sincerely, "Thank you for opening the door for me back then."

Without the landlady, she might have had to keep running exposed to the air. Then she’d have been "delighted" to see her stamina plummet, forcing her to frantically take meds to survive.

The landlady took the milk and said gruffly, "The guest room is still yours. If you want to stay, come anytime. But rent will still be due as usual!"

"Sounds good," Su Han replied with a smile.

Only then did the landlady slowly leave.

Su Han stroked her chin and suddenly thought of a question, "If a player just entered the dungeon, knocked on doors everywhere, and got no response, what would happen to them?"

Since they’d just entered and didn’t understand the situation, most wouldn’t think to cover their mouths and noses with a wet towel—let alone realize the air was full of radioactive elements. Their skin would likely be largely exposed too.

"After an hour or two, they’d take some light damage," Zhong Rui replied calmly. "If they’re slow to react and take too long to figure things out, five hours in, they could lose half their health points."

"No grace period, just cripple the players right away?" Su Han sighed. "Classic tenth round difficulty."

"What’s there to fear? We've got this covered," Zhong Rui said confidently.

The two chatted casually while wandering the underground plaza. By 4:30 PM, Zhong Rui finally headed out with his friend.

Su Han checked the time and her stats, murmuring, "1 stamina point drains every 30 minutes—staying underground really is safe." Too bad they could only enter between 11 AM and 5 PM daily.

Zhong Rui broke it down calmly, "In a room, stamina drops by 1 every 10 minutes. Underground, it’s 1 every 30 minutes—a difference of 4 stamina per hour."

"At best, you can stay underground for 6 hours a day, saving up to 24 stamina."

"Not a big deal for us, but for some, staying underground might be their ticket to survival. Those who don’t find it will likely be eliminated."

As they spoke, the two returned above ground.

Su Han looked around and found the house similar in layout to the landlady’s, with only minor differences—lead plates on the walls, an air purifier, and several empty water bottles in the corner.

"Make yourself at home," he said.

Restless, Su Han mixed the seaweed she’d just bought with seasoning. Munching on it, she muttered, "They say seaweed boosts radiation resistance. Wonder if that's legit. Want some?"

Zhong Rui helped himself, taking a big bite before concluding, "Really good."

Su Han considered it payment for the information, enjoying the free seaweed bite by bite.

But after finishing, the system’s mechanical voice suddenly pinged in her ear, "You have consumed seaweed. Radiation resistance is effectively increased for the next two hours."

Su Han was surprised to see that even in the ground-level room, her stamina still dropped by 1 every 30 minutes. But after two hours, the buff faded, and the rate returned to 1 every 10 minutes.

Next, she tried ginkgo leaf tea. Drinking it also granted a "radiation resistance boost" buff, though its duration depended on the amount consumed. However, both the tea and seaweed were expensive.

"Is this dungeon just a cash grab?" Su Han couldn’t help but wonder.

Protective suits, ginkgo leaf tea, kelp, iodine pills, and other items can effectively counteract radiation. However, purchasing these supplies comes with a hefty price tag.

If you can’t afford them, you can only watch helplessly as your stamina plummets. Alternatively, you could constantly chug potions, replenishing whatever stamina you lose.

Additionally, the game environment this round is harsh—players who stay outside are basically asking to die. Yet, NPCs won’t just let anyone inside, so rent becomes another expense.

Even for her, with her Portable Storage packed full when entering the instance, she couldn’t shake off the anxiety creeping in.

"Massive consumption of supplies in the instance, the shop closed with no further replenishment opportunities—this is the final showdown." Su Han had a hunch that the competition was nearing its end. With just two or three more instances, the final victor would likely be determined.

"Wanna try the iodine pills?" Zhong Rui leaned in.

Su Han shot her friend a long look but instead asked, "What’s your plan?"

"Of course, it’s to clear the instance," Zhong Rui replied briskly. "I’ve already planned it out—full stamina at 880, checking in at the underground plaza daily, which can sustain me for seven days."

"However, to play it safe, I won’t wait until my stamina drops to 20 or 30 before taking potions. Once it drops to 100, I’ll pop a Vitality Potion."

"Vitality Potions can remove all negative statuses from a player. For me, clearing the instance means drinking three Vitality Potions, plus consuming 20 days’ worth of food and daily necessities. Easy as that."

Then, glancing at his friend, he added, "Even with you included, it’d only take six Vitality Potions—no sweat."

Su Han couldn’t help but laugh. "If Vitality Potions are that OP, why bother buying iodine pills?"

Zhong Rui explained, "Sure, they’re convenient, but they should be used sparingly since there aren’t many in stock. I plan to slow the stamina drain as much as possible—one Vitality Potion lasting me 10 days, two to clear the instance."

"If I recall correctly, you didn’t use a single Vitality Potion in the first nine instances?" Su Han inquired.

"Right, so I have seven in total," Zhong Rui admitted.

Seven Vitality Potions! That’s like seven extra lives! Su Han genuinely felt that her companion might just outlive the apocalypse.

Finally, Zhong Rui concluded, "No rush, no panic—just chill. For other players, the nuclear radiation instance might be tough. But for the two of us, we’ve got everything under control."

At this point, Su Han had no choice but to confess, "Actually, I haven’t decided yet whether I want to clear the instance."

Zhong Rui, "..."

His friend’s answer was completely outside his expectations.

He couldn’t help but wonder—what’s not to like about clearing the instance? What’s there to hesitate about?

Author’s note: Zhong Rui: You’re outside my expectations, throwing off my groove.