Chapter 101 Nuclear Radiation 4

Chapter 101: Nuclear Radiation, Part 4

Su Han calmly analyzed, "The competition is nearing its end. The tenth round started with only 106,000 players, and this time it'll wipe out a huge chunk of them. Therefore, I believe leaving the instance directly on the 10th day is more efficient."

"Another point—my current experience is 14/30. If I leave on the 15th day, it’ll become 25/30 when entering the next game. I’d only need to survive until the 5th day for all three attributes to fully recover." Like getting a free Vitality Potion.

"If this were the early stages of the game, beating the level would've been the smart move to widen the attribute gap. But at this point, the competition could end anytime. Plenty of ways to play it—beating it isn't mandatory."

Zhong Rui was speechless. Power-leveling early in the next instance by calculating experience points was something he'd done before. He'd even quit gaming the system to give up the "+5 experience" bonus. It was only after obtaining Vitality Potions that he stopped scheming like this.

Then, Su Han added, "Items like Vitality Potions—you can never have too many. Given the current situation, the game’s difficulty will only increase from here."

Zhong Rui tossed her four Vitality Potions. "Here, take these." Whether she used them to beat the level or not was up to her.

Su Han grabbed them without ceremony and reciprocated by giving him twelve Nutrition Capsules.

Zhong Rui wasn't about to say no, immediately storing the capsules in his Portable Storage before asking, "What about the precious soap?"

"The drop rate didn't proc," Su Han replied.

"Mm." Zhong Rui responded softly, then lowered his gaze and said in a neutral tone, "This is just a game. There's no so-called ‘correct answer’—play however makes you happy. If you want to leave the instance early, then go. No need to overthink it."

"Once I leave, you'll be flying solo," Su Han reminded him pointedly.

"Before meeting you, wasn't I holding my own just fine?" Zhong Rui remained composed. "With a rocket launcher, Vitality Potions, and a full medkit, there's nothing to fear."

Su Han thought about it and realized he was right. Her companion was already doing well just by not actively causing trouble for others. If anyone foolishly provoked him, they'd get wrecked.

That settled it for her.

**

The next morning at 9 AM, the system’s mechanical voice announced, "Day 5."

At the same time, a prompt sounded in Su Han’s ear: "Experience 30/30. Congratulations, Talent level increased by 1."

Master Soap Maker: In the instance, there is a 90% chance of obtaining two handmade soaps daily, a 25% chance of obtaining three handmade soaps + two lilac soaps, and a 5% chance of obtaining precious soap.

The transparent panel’s attributes updated as follows—

Name: Su Han (Verified ID)

Level: 7 (Experience 15/30)

Profession 1: Nutritionist (Top-tier talent, cannot be upgraded further)

Profession 2: Master Soap Maker (Top-tier talent, cannot be upgraded further)

Satiety: 814/860

Cleanliness: 808/860

Stamina: 533/860

Su Han murmured to herself, "Wonder if I'll unlock a third class..."

"If clearing the instance drops a bonus reward with a third class option, I’ll let you know when we meet in the next instance," Zhong Rui said, taking a sip of ginkgo leaf tea.

For a moment, Su Han’s resolve wavered. But then she reconsidered—with only two or three instances left before the competition ended, what was the point of grinding attributes and professions if she couldn’t take them with her?

That settled it for her.

They holed up in the house until 11 a.m., then both stood up simultaneously, ready to head to the underground square.

Just then, the system’s robotic voice rang in Su Han's ears, "Your radioactive element intake has exceeded safe levels. Your body has sustained minor damage."

At the same time, small grayed-out sections appeared in her satiety, hygiene, and stamina bars.

Only then did she realize her attribute cap had dropped from 860 to 800, and her satiety had dropped sharply from 814 to 800.

"After inhaling radioactive elements, the attribute cap keeps decreasing?" Su Han tensed up, quickly realizing, "As time passes, the total amount of radioactive elements absorbed will only increase. That means the further into the instance, the weaker the players become, and the more severely their attributes are diminished."

As for a solution, the only thing she could think of was drinking Vitality Potions.

But only players with the Physician class could obtain Vitality Potions! Moreover, most players wouldn’t be as calm and composed as Zhong Rui. They’d need potions when facing danger, when supplies ran low and they had to trade, or when teammates were in peril and needed saving… Their potion reserves would never be abundant.

After this analysis, Su Han concluded that only elite players with the Physician class stood a chance of clearing the nuclear radiation instance.

"What are you doing? Why aren’t you coming?" Zhong Rui urged his teammate to hurry up—they needed to get to the underground square for shelter.

Su Han’s mood sank. Looking back on her actions since entering the instance, it could roughly be described as—death was certain, but she could at least try to stave it off as long as possible.

Breathing, eating, drinking—no matter what she did, she would inevitably inhale some radioactive elements. Everyone was heading toward the same inevitable end: death. No matter how much they resisted, most were powerless to stop it.

**

Su Han felt this was the most frustrating moment since entering the game, but in reality, her situation was still relatively good.

Her shrinking supplies only fueled her anxiety, but at this very moment, many players had already exhausted their resources!

Medical supplies were inherently scarce, and reserves were quite limited. On top of that, they needed to buy radiation-resistant food to slow the decline of stamina, causing food and essentials to vanish fast. Within days, players were facing the dilemma of running out of supplies.

No one was willing to sit and wait for death, forfeiting the competition, so a few of them banded together and decided to pull off a major score.

At the underground square, Su Han thought the seaweed and ginkgo tea were pretty solid, so she revisited the same shop.

The proprietress beamed, "Enjoying the food? Let me recommend something else! Seaweed’s also killer for blocking radiation!"

Su Han sighed, shaking her head, "There are plenty of good things, but they’re too expensive. I can’t afford them."

But as soon as she finished speaking, Zhong Rui stepped forward to pay, then shoved a large bundle of goods into her hands.

Su Han, "..."

Was she really unable to afford it? Not exactly—she was just griping for the sake of it. Who would’ve thought her buddy would call her out on it right away?

The proprietress looked at Zhong Rui with admiration, praising him, "What matters most in a man is spoiling his girlfriend! If you’re looking for a boyfriend, you should find someone like him!"

"Not really," Zhong Rui humbly replied, then turned to Su Han and said, "Cook laver soup tonight. I want some."

Su Han instantly lost her temper. The guy was loaded—he just wanted laver soup, and who was she to argue?

The proprietress, "..."

No wonder people said some guys were single by choice—his choice. With that kind of talk, it’d be a miracle if he ever found a girlfriend.

While the proprietress was silently criticizing, suddenly, a grenade was thrown into the shop.

"Holy—!" Instantly, a shrill scream ripped through the air.

Zhong Rui instinctively dove for cover, pulling Su Han tight against him.

"Boom—" The explosion erupted, blowing the shop to bits.

Zhong Rui grunted, clearly injured.

Soon after, explosions erupted from the surrounding shops, clearly a coordinated attack.

"Zhong Rui!" Su Han was shielded on the inside, unharmed, but she was anything but pleased.

Seeing her companion injured because of her, Su Han was furious—she wanted nothing more than to rip those bastards apart!

Just then, another object came flying in.

Before Su Han could get a good look, thick smoke quickly filled the shop, blinding them to everything else.

Smoke grenade! She recognized it immediately.

Quick, shuffling footsteps sounded, accompanied by hushed voices:

"Move your asses, no time to waste."

"Take what you can and bail, no delays."

"Remember, in and out, clean."

Though the smoke blocked their sight, the direction of the voices was clear. Su Han's ears pricked up as she pinpointed their location. Immediately, she pulled several grenades from her Portable Storage and lobbed them hard.

This was what they called "an eye for an eye."

*Thud*—a faint sound of something hitting the floor.

But the robbers were too busy ransacking the shop to notice. Besides, the smoke was blinding them to what others were doing.

Zhong Rui, however, caught on and whispered, "This place is too tight for a fight. Let’s deal with them outside later."

"No need for later. The grenades were thrown just far enough—they won’t hit us, but they’ll wipe out the enemy in one go." Her eyes turned icy.

No sooner had she spoken than explosions rang out.

The robbers barely had time to exclaim, "The hell—?" before vanishing in white light.

Su Han snorted. "They fucked around and found out."

Zhong Rui could only sigh. He had intended to act, but before he could do anything, his companion had already resolved the situation—clean and quick!

Then, Su Han patted Zhong Rui’s arm and urged, "Let me go, or you’ll get hurt again."

With a quiet sigh, Zhong Rui released her.

Outside the shop, the staccato *brrrt* of gunfire continued, painting a picture of utter chaos.

Inside, the smoke gradually cleared, finally revealing the scene.

Su Han glanced around, puzzled. "Where’s the proprietress?" Did she go down fighting?

Just then, a hand emerged from under the counter. "Here, here!" It turned out the proprietress had hit the deck under the counter the moment trouble started.

Zhong Rui’s eyes scanned sharply, only to find several nearby shops being robbed simultaneously. Some robbers had already succeeded and slipped away, while others had been intercepted and got dusted on the spot.

"Just how many people are involved in this robbery?" Zhong Rui frowned, realizing the number of participants far exceeded his expectations.

Su Han sighed softly. "Day 5. Conservatively, at least 300 out of 1,000 players have been backed into a corner." In truth, she suspected the number was closer to 500 or 600.

Robbery in the underground plaza carried huge risks, but for some, there was no choice. Rolling the dice might get them a slim chance of survival—staying put meant certain death. Author’s note: Su Han: After two or three more instances, the competition will be over.