Chapter 111 Survival 7

Chapter 111 Struggle for Survival 7

The game capsule slowly opened, and Su Han bolted upright, accessing the survival game forum.

At the top were two pinned posts. The first was a data post: "Latest update: 29,700 players participated in the eleventh round, with 12,100 advancing—a clearance rate of 41%. Additionally, 2,976 players completed the round."

The second was an announcement: "The twelfth round is the final battle. Details inside."

Su Han clicked into the post.

The main post read:

"Survive at all costs—push until you collapse!

The final battle is an infinite survival mode. Surviving players will face multiple challenges, including dwindling supplies, attacks from wild beasts, and harsh weather conditions.

Once your stamina hits zero, you will be disqualified. Final rankings will be determined by the order of elimination—the longer your survival time, the higher your ranking.

Note 1: Players will enter different servers and compete solo. (This includes those who have submitted applications and confirmed teams.)

Note 2: Players may request to team up again and enter the same server. However, teams are limited to a maximum of three members, and applications must be submitted to customer service before 18:00 tonight—no exceptions. (More players in the same server will increase the difficulty accordingly.)

Note 3: The system will not disclose the number of remaining survivors during the match.

We hope all players push their limits and achieve outstanding results."

After reading the post, several thoughts immediately flashed through Su Han’s mind.

Final battle… infinite survival mode… This meant she could burn through all the supplies in her inventory.

Since each player had accumulated a different stockpile, those who had an advantage earlier would inevitably dominate in the final battle.

If a player entered the game instance alone, they would have to face every challenge by themselves—how long they survived depended entirely on their own abilities. If they entered as a team, teammates could support each other and overcome difficulties together. However, one thing to note: if entering as a team, there was a possibility of backstabbing—teammates killing each other to steal supplies.

Additionally, the system’s refusal to disclose the number of remaining survivors would force players to fight until the very end.

Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, too tangled to sort out immediately. Su Han shook her head and stopped overthinking it, instead focusing on browsing the forum.

"I made it to the eleventh round and thought I was a big deal, only to find my competitors were all beasts! The competition leveled up hard—can you imagine?!"

"Even among survivors, some have cleared multiple stages while others barely scraped by hiding. How can they be the same?!"

"I tried finding someone I could bully in my server, but failed. Then I realized I was at the bottom of the top-tier pyramid… What a harsh truth!"

"A top player in my server said the longer the battle dragged on, the more advantageous resource-based talents became. So he formed alliances and ended the fight swiftly… That’s a true pro. I can only watch in awe."

"I thought my talent was decent, but then I ran into a dual-class player—quality couldn’t match quantity. I thought my combat skills were solid, but then I met a trained fighter who suppressed me the entire time and pounded me into the ground. In the end, I figured I might as well throw in the towel… The remaining players are all inhuman. No way to win."

"A high-level player in my server torched the forest at dawn on the second day, wiping out 50% of the competition in one go. Damn, who can compete with that efficiency? My idea of poisoning the water supply seems childish in comparison!"

"If I had to make a comparison, it’s like going from basic arithmetic straight to advanced calculus—the difficulty spike is insane."

"Before, the full score was 100, and passing was 60—hard to tell the difference in skill. Now the full score is 1,000, and passing is 600, instantly exposing the gap between players. Honestly, making it to the eleventh round is already an achievement."

...

Su Han scrolled through several posts, but most were just lamentations—no useful information at all. Meanwhile, more posts about the final battle started popping up.

"Out of 12 possible game instances, I only randomly guessed the zombie one correctly. Ugh, salt in the wound!" "Can the final battle be livestreamed? I’m pleading to watch the legends in action!"

"Let's talk about it—if it were you, would you choose to enter the dungeon alone or team up with others?"

"I just have one question! How is it that after playing the game this long, your inventory still isn't empty?? How the hell did you pull that off?!"

"Pfft." Su Han couldn't help but laugh when she saw the last post.

Just then, a private message arrived.

Su Han clicked to check—it was a message from Zhong Rui. The content was simple, just one line: "Teaming up for the final dungeon?"

Her first reaction upon seeing the message was confusion—of course they were teaming up! Weren't they always playing on the same server?

After a brief pause, she froze in thought. When had it started? She had come to take teaming up with Zhong Rui for granted.

If it had been her in the past, hearing that the final dungeon could be entered alone, she would’ve ditched Zhong Rui without hesitation. But now, after reading the game rules in the pinned post, she hadn’t even considered going solo—she only thought in terms of them as a team.

Why was that? Su Han couldn’t figure it out.

After five minutes without a reply, Zhong Rui sent another message: "You there?"

Su Han’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, unsure how to respond. After a long pause, she finally replied, "Of course we’re teaming up. What would you do if you ran out of daily supplies?"

Zhong Rui was left speechless by her reply. Indeed, once daily supplies ran out, players would have to rely on meds to power through, and once those were gone, it was game over—the inevitable fate of all non-supply-specialized players.

But deep down, Zhong Rui couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy. Before sending the message, he had braced himself for the worst. Yet Su Han had agreed to team up—what a pleasant surprise.

"Put in the team request with customer service," Su Han sent a second message, her tone indifferent. But in truth, her emotions were anything but calm.

"Got it," Zhong Rui replied.

After submitting the request, customer service processed it.

Zhong Rui mused to himself—once the competition ended, he’d have no excuse to contact her. Maybe he should ask to meet up IRL?

As he was trying to phrase it, Su Han sent a third message: "After playing for over ten days straight, I’m burned out. I’m logging off now—you should rest early too."

And just like that, she was gone, decisive as ever.

Zhong Rui: "..."

Speechless.

On the other side, Su Han closed the forum and zoned out for a bit. In truth, she always made sure to rest properly after gaming and wasn't nearly as wiped as she'd made out. But for some reason, she suddenly wanted to be alone—to think about why she had agreed to team up.

Taking a deep breath, Su Han calmed herself and began analyzing: "I provide food and daily supplies, Zhong Rui provides combat protection and medicine. 1+1 > 2—cooperation means surviving longer."

"After several rounds of the game, we’ve grown accustomed to working together. More importantly, our values align—no dead weight, no betrayal."

"Even if I’m usually quick-thinking and sharp, I can’t guarantee I’ll cover everything. Two heads are better than one—we can compensate for each other’s blind spots."

Su Han tried to rationalize it with facts and logic, but she didn’t believe a word of it. No matter how skilled or strong a teammate was, the version of her from when she first started the game would’ve unhesitatingly chosen to go solo. If that led to an early exit, it would’ve just meant her skills weren’t up to par—no one else to blame.

But now, teaming up with Zhong Rui felt like the obvious choice.

Su Han sighed and admitted to herself—it was simple, really. She just wanted to play with Zhong Rui.

Acknowledging that she was no longer the lone-wolf type, Su Han slouched in frustration. Listlessly, she turned on her computer, planning to watch a movie to shift her mood. Just as she was about to open her movie library, it suddenly struck her—she hadn’t logged into the survivalist forum in ages.

She wondered how the others were doing. With a flicker of curiosity, she opened the survivalist forum.

Upon entering, several pinned posts on the homepage were highlighted in bold red.

The first post read, "Welcome survivors to check in here. After verifying with a screenshot, your username will be highlighted in orange for 100 days as a reward."

The second post said, "Share those crazy plays you've encountered in survival games over the years."

The third post stated, "Everyone is welcome to share their experiences in this thread—format: [Date] [Reason for elimination]."

Then, Su Han clicked into the first post to check.

Paw-print check-in! "Fought tooth and nail just to make it to the final showdown—what a struggle. Sadly, the supplies in my Portable Storage are only a quarter of what they were at their peak. My heart aches a little."

A screenshot was attached as proof.

4L: "Paw-print check-in! You might not believe it, but I almost got wrecked.

Before entering the instance, I thought all players who'd been through hell must be about the same skill level. But two days into the game, I realized not everyone had struggled desperately, teetering on the brink of death multiple times—some breezed right into the finals.

Mistaking a god-tier player for trash, I nearly died. Luckily, I wasn’t the only naive one. Others kept provoking the pro and got completely owned, while I slipped away and barely survived."

A screenshot was also attached, proving his survival.

11L: "Paw-up check-in! Gotta say, out of everyone I’ve met in the game so far, the most ruthless was actually a female pro player… Who says women can’t compete with men? It’s just that there are fewer elite female players, so they’re harder to encounter. Some people habitually underestimate female players—they should experience firsthand just how terrifying a female pro can be."

Again, proof was attached.

22L: "Count me in. Also looking for a reliable teammate for the final dungeon run—no scrubs, please."

A screenshot was included as well.

...

Su Han scrolled through thread after thread and was surprised to find that there were over 40 survivors on the forum! And that didn’t even include members who couldn’t be bothered to report with screenshots, like her.

"Truly the Survivalist Forum," she remarked with feeling.

Since the final showdown was an endless solo dungeon run, Su Han figured she’d likely be thrown into the wilderness. So she dug up some curated guides, brushing up on and reinforcing wilderness survival skills, and even watched two related movies.

The next morning, as usual, Su Han got into the game capsule early.

At exactly 8 a.m., the participants logged in on time, beginning the final game.

**

In a dizzying blur, Su Han found herself inside the instance.

The system began its introduction, "This round is a survival game set in a primal forest. Players must fight to stay alive until you can't go on."

"Note: When HP hits zero, the character dies, and you're out of the game."

"Good luck and game on!"

After hearing the rules, Su Han started surveying her surroundings. But the moment she turned her head, she saw Zhong Rui standing right beside her.