Chapter 108 Survival 4

Chapter 108 Fight for Survival (4)

Su Han gathered some dry branches and built a fire, then sat beside it, sorting through her thoughts.

The game rules stated that if the player survival rate dropped below 50%, the remaining survivors would meet the clearance conditions and could request to leave the game instance at any time. If the survival rate fell below 10%, it would be considered extreme challenge completion by the survivors, earning them bonus rewards.

From this, it was clear that the system didn’t care how players were eliminated.

To survive until the end, there were generally two strategies. The first was to relentlessly hunt competitors until the survival rate dropped below 10%. The second was to find sufficient supplies, hide, and lay low while waiting for competitors to be eliminated.

In reality, both strategies had their pros and cons.

The first strategy involved non-stop combat, with roles of predator and prey constantly shifting. One wrong move could be fatal. However, if successful, the game instance might end within 48 hours.

The second strategy had lower combat intensity, requiring only the consumption of supplies while waiting. No matter how strong an opponent was, once their cleanliness and satiety were depleted, their stamina would crash. The only downside was that stockpiling supplies painted a target on your back. If discovered and surrounded, the risk of failure was high.

As she pondered, a deep voice suddenly spoke, “Hey, got any food?”

Su Han jolted alert, quickly looking up. A burly man stood before her, holding an unknown firearm—clearly dangerous.

“I asked you a question. Why ignore me?” The man wore a deceptively guileless look, as if straightforward.

Su Han slipped her hand into her bag, quietly gripping a tranquilizer dart—any player who survived this long was not to be underestimated. Trusting the other party’s harmlessness was tantamount to sabotaging herself.

“Why should I give you food?” she asked flatly.

The man’s chest puffed up and he declared solemnly, “You provide food, and I’ll be your bodyguard. I guarantee your safety!”

“Pass,” Su Han replied stiffly. “I prefer being alone. Leave.”

The man’s expression turned serious. “I *will* get food. If you won’t hire me, then I’ll take what I need.”

Su Han shot back, “If you can, go ahead and try.”

The man, “…”

This wasn’t going according to script.

Was she truly confident, or just bluffing? The man scrutinized her, trying to see through her act.

Su Han said coolly, “I want to be alone. If there’s nothing else, please leave.”

After fighting all day, she was running on empty and had no energy left for another battle. Besides, guns spelled trouble. Unless absolutely necessary, she didn’t want to engage with this man.

The man’s face darkened as he weighed his options. After a long pause, he sighed, backed off with visible frustration, and reluctantly walked away.

Watching his retreating figure, Su Han muttered to herself, “Just me here, no one to keep watch at night… How am I supposed to sleep? Speaking of which, did Zhong Rui get lost? Why hasn’t he shown up yet?”

At the same time, Dai Hui ran into trouble.

Carrying four bags meant she had taken down three opponents. In a one-on-one situation, most would avoid her. But many players still hadn’t found supplies.

**

After failing to negotiate with Dai Hui, some didn’t leave. Instead, they hid nearby and began recruiting others. Gradually, a makeshift four-man team formed.

Armed with a tactical knife, a staff, a firearm, and a longbow, the team had a deadly combination of ranged and melee combat—a formidable arsenal.

The leader lowered his voice and whispered, "After taking out the target, each of us can grab a satchel. So we need to stick together and pull this off!"

The other three gave a quick nod.

The leader smiled faintly, appearing relieved, but he sneered to himself. Outwardly, things looked friendly, but only they themselves knew what they were truly thinking. Whatever—once he got his hands on the bag, he’d run, leaving no chance for the others to turn on each other.

Under the leader's direction, the four surrounded Dai Hui.

Dai Hui stiffened when she realized she was surrounded from all sides. But she quickly composed herself, raising an eyebrow with a cold smirk. "Afraid I haven’t taken down enough people, so you’re delivering a few more?"

"No way you’re beating four of us!" The leader barked, and instantly, bullets whizzed, arrows flew straight toward their target.

Dai Hui’s palms were slick with sweat. Though she wanted to act tough and pretend nothing was wrong, without her portable storage, fighting four at once was way too much.

A thought hit her. She threw one of her satchels forward.

Her plan was to push past them while they bent down to pick it up. But the gun-wielding man snatched the bag clean out of the air and, without hesitation, turned and left. His strides were long, and he was gone in a flash.

Dai Hui, "..."

The temporary teammates, "..."

Killing Dai Hui would’ve scored each of them a bag. But now that he had one, whether Dai Hui lived or died didn’t matter—he’d already won.

Thus, he left decisively, not even sparing a glance at his temporary teammates before disbanding.

Once they realized what had happened, the remaining three cursed him for ditching them. But even as they complained, they knew that in his place, they might have done the same.

Three against one was still bad odds. Those who lasted this long weren’t easy to deal with. Dai Hui sighed softly, then took off running.

"After her!" The leader barked.

And so, Dai Hui ran ahead while the three chased behind, seemingly determined to see this through to the end.

Su Han was eating dinner when she saw someone sprinting toward her, winded, her face flushed with panic.

Su Han, "..."

How many times had this happened today? Couldn’t they just settle down at night? Office drones already slaved nine-to-five—wasn’t it enough that even in this damn game, they had to stay on alert 24/7? Unbelievable.

As the pursued figure drew closer, Su Han blinked in surprise—wasn’t that the girl who had lent her the firestarter?

Dai Hui stopped by the campfire, panting as she spoke. "I’m being chased—by three people. They’ll be here any second. You said you’d help me, right? Just hold off one of them—I’ll deal with the other two. After this, you can have all their satchels if you want!"

Su Han thought to herself, was she asking to get jumped?

But outwardly, she nodded. "Three in total, right? No problem." She didn’t even need Dai Hui’s help—she could handle them alone.

Then, Su Han fished out two knockout darts from her satchel, ready for battle.

Dai Hui stayed on guard.

The three pursuers were all men—light on their feet and relentless, impossible to shake off. Seeking help was her only option.

But that didn’t mean the person before her was trustworthy. She might’ve dodged one threat just to run into another. Still, she wanted to fight for a chance at survival.

Soon, the pursuers arrived.

Spotting two women ahead, the three paused in surprise. But then, their eyes locked onto the six satchels between them. If they pulled this off... Their pulses raced.

A military saber, a quarterstaff, and a longbow. Su Han raised an eyebrow and went straight for the archer.

But to her surprise, the moment she closed in, the archer immediately discarded his bow and pulled out a dagger for close combat.

Su Han wasn’t angry—in fact, she was delighted. Gripping her quarterstaff, she charged forward without any fancy techniques, just rapidly whacking her target, trading damage.

Meanwhile, Dai Hui held her own against two opponents. When the saber swung down, she nimbly dodged and retaliated by stabbing the attacker’s thigh. When the staff swept horizontally, she dropped low and slashed at the opponent’s ankle.

The three of them clashed fiercely. The two male players grew increasingly unnerved—most of their attacks missed, while only a few landed. But their opponent? Her dagger slashed everywhere, leaving countless wounds in its wake! One poor schmuck even got hit with the 'bleeding' status effect.

They had assumed female players were naturally weaker, with limits to their strength. But now, they couldn’t help but question reality—was this really a female player? How was she out-brawling male players? Holding her own against two opponents without faltering!

While the duo was internally panicking, the guy fighting Su Han one-on-one had turned green. As they exchanged blows, his HP bar nosedived, dropping nearly 40% in moments. Meanwhile, Su Han’s health bar was barely ticking down, still a robust 83%.

He wanted to grab her by the collar and scream—why?! They were both aiming for vital spots, neither defending, so how is she this much of a damage sponge? Was this cheating?!

But as an experienced player, he quickly forced himself to calm down and analyze the situation rationally. Taking a deep breath, his expression twisted slightly as he asked, "What level are you? With that HP, you must have at least 600 or 700, right?"

"Guess—if you’re right, maybe I’ll tell you," Su Han replied playfully on a whim.

The man: "..."

Facing an opponent with boss-level HP, how was he supposed to fight? It felt like he’d come all this way just to deliver himself as free XP.

"Let’s make a deal," Su Han suddenly whispered. "I’ll trade you a satchel if you betray your squad and help take them out." She was worried the girl holding her own against two wouldn’t last much longer.

"If they die, will I even survive?!" he refused firmly.

Su Han shrugged carelessly. "Do you think you’ll survive now either? Whether they die or not is uncertain, but fighting me? You’re 100% toast."

The man fell silent.

Su Han softened her tone, putting on a world-weary tone. "I’ve already eliminated several people today. I’m tired. Let’s speedrun this so we can all rest."

The man looked up, uneasy. "You promise you’ll let me go afterward?"

Su Han gave him a pointed look. "Keep yapping, and you’ll respawn early."

Wiping cold sweat from his forehead, the man bit the bullet. "Fine. I’ll do it."

Soon, he rejoined the fight.

The leader, thinking he had backup, perked up—only to be stabbed in the gut by his supposed ally the next second.

Stunned and disbelieving, the leader short-circuited, blue-screened.

Dai Hui was trying to parse this plot twist, her brow furrowing.

Su Han appeared beside her and explained quietly, "I turned him. Let’s finish this fast." With that, she wound up for a heavy swing.

Turned him? Since when is that a mechanic? Dai Hui was speechless. Shaking off her disbelief, she flashed her blade and dove back in.

Soon, the battle ended. The two pursuers vanished with a salty death cry.

But at this moment, the remaining three stood separately, as if... cautiously guarding against each other.

Author's note: Author: Word's all grown up now, it should learn to type on its own (serious face)

My stockpile of drafts is dead, whether it recovers depends on if Word's gained consciousness...

**

Su Han (female): If you don't give it, I'll just take it by force. (Negotiations break down, fighting begins)

Guy: If you don't give it, I'll just take it by force. (Negotiations break down, turns and leaves)

Eh, he was just bluffing...