Chapter 113 Endless Mode 2

Chapter 113 Endless Mode: Part 2

After a short rest, the two stood up and pressed on. Only by exploring the surrounding terrain could they find a place relatively safe to set up camp.

They hadn’t gone far when both froze—a pack of wild wolves was hunting a black bear in the distance.

The black bear was tall and extremely burly, swinging a paw lazily, sending a gray wolf flying. However, the number of wolves besieging it was overwhelming—for every one knocked aside, three more pounced to bite.

Soon, the air grew thick with the metallic tang of blood.

Su Han thought to herself that it felt like watching a live-action *Animal Planet* episode.

Zhong Rui took Su Han’s hand and guided her away, signaling that they should steer clear.

Su Han nodded and followed. To avoid drawing attention, she remained completely silent the entire time. Only once they were well clear did she mutter gloomily, “After walking for so long, I still haven’t seen a single safe spot.”

Not even a place that was *relatively* safe.

Zhong Rui stayed quiet, face grim, as if contemplating a plan.

Su Han looked around, trying to find a good spot to set up camp. As for safety… she had already given up on that. After all, nowhere in this untamed wilderness was truly safe.

A babbling brook flowed nearby, and a clueless rabbit came hopping out. Right in front of Su Han and Zhong Rui, it lowered its head and drank eagerly.

Su Han thought to herself that if she weren’t in such a foul mood, this creature might have ended up as rabbit stew!

Just as she was about to look away, a flicker of light flashed. The next second, the rabbit collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

“Electric eel,” Su Han uttered slowly, her expression grim.

Electric eels, though resembling eels in appearance (hence the name), were actually a type of knifefish. In the real world, they were known as "underwater power lines," capable of generating currents strong enough to stun humans and easily kill smaller animals.

Even against larger creatures, they could shock their prey—horses, cattle, and the like.

Such a dangerous creature lay hidden in the stream. If a player carelessly approached, they would be the ones to suffer.

Once again, Su Han realized that danger was everywhere.

Zhong Rui said expressionlessly, “I wonder how many players could survive the first day with this level of attack intensity?”

Su Han, on the other hand, gave up. “Since nowhere is safe anyway, let’s just pick a random spot. Setting up fences and traps should at least give us a bit more security.”

After a pause, she added, “And clear out a firebreak to prevent wildfires while we’re at it.”

Zhong Rui’s face was full of helplessness. Internally, he thought, *Rocket launchers? Basically firestarters!* What could he do? He was just as frustrated.

Su Han scanned the horizon and finally spotted something after a long while. “There’s a grove of birch trees over there. The trees are relatively sparse—let’s set up camp there.”

Zhong Rui was doubtful. Given the current situation, if he refused, the two might just go their separate ways… With Su Han’s determination, even if they started the dungeon together, she wouldn’t hesitate to split up and act alone.

To avoid such a tragedy, he agreed flatly, “Alright.”

And so, it was decided.

The two headed in the direction Su Han had pointed out. Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the grove of birch trees. The trees were sparse, not densely packed, though some weeds grew around them.

Su Han began digging through her Portable Storage. If she remembered correctly, she had a Tang sword that could be used to chop trees.

Zhong Rui pulled out an axe and calmly delegated tasks. “I’ll chop the trees. You clear the weeds, and then we’ll dig up the stumps.”

Su Han blinked. Was he volunteering for the heavy lifting? Her buddy was pretty solid—she’d picked right!

Su Han didn’t fuss and simply accepted the arrangement. Then, she began removing weeds manually, pulling them out or using a hoe—no-frills work.

Zhong Rui, meanwhile, rolled up his sleeves and started chopping down trees.

The minutes ticked by.

Two hours later, they sat beneath a birch tree to rest.

"Just clearing a patch of land takes so much effort," Zhong Rui muttered, taking a sip of mineral water, his face sour.

"Take it slow..." Su Han’s tone was particularly weary. Then, she took out a pork floss cream bread and began munching on it, chasing it with milk.

"Gimme some," Zhong Rui demanded without hesitation.

Su Han shot him a sidelong glance. "Don’t you have your own?" This dude’s Portable Storage was packed!

"Yours looks better," Zhong Rui replied earnestly.

Su Han sighed and tossed him a pork floss cream bread.

The midday hours were quiet and leisurely, with a calm, easy vibe. But the moment Su Han remembered the afternoon, evening, and even tomorrow would be filled with more manual labor, she blanked out.

"Sh—!" Suddenly, Zhong Rui let out a muffled groan and swiftly pulled out a dagger, jabbing at his ankle.

"The hell?" Su Han had been too focused on her bread to notice anything amiss.

The dagger struck several times before stopping.

"Ant bite. Poisoned." Zhong Rui’s expression darkened as he said slowly.

Only then did Su Han notice a tiny black ant lying on the ground. It was so small and inconspicuous that it could easily be overlooked.

A status check showed: "Satiety: 95%, Cleanliness: 92%, Stamina: 98%. Status: Fine, Poisoned."

Couldn’t even eat without drama—Su Han didn’t know what to say.

Zhong Rui, however, calmly swallowed an antidote pill and continued eating and drinking as if nothing had happened. "Get used to it. From now on, getting attacked without knowing why will happen often."

Su Han took a cold sip of milk, not wanting to get used to it at all.

"Spot the pattern?" Zhong Rui remarked idly. "Doing heavy labor for long stretches makes satiety drop two to three times faster than before."

Su Han drained her milk and said flatly, "This dungeon’s a grindfest. Every item we’ve stockpiled since entering the game will come into play here."

Lunchtime ended, and the two resumed their work—chopping trees and pulling weeds.

By a little before two in the afternoon, the weeding was done. Su Han glanced around and saw the other patches of grass were quite far away, so she decided to leave them for tomorrow. Then, she used her dagger to carve a wooden shovel and began prying up stumps.

Hustling together, they finally managed to clear a decent clearing before sunset. Though the area wasn’t large, they were weirdly proud.

Zhong Rui announced, "Let’s gather some stones for a campfire, have dinner, and wrap up."

Su Han sat on the ground, deep in thought. After a long silence, she suddenly suggested, "We’ve got the firebreak—why not torch the whole forest?"

If they could burn away all the plants and critters in one go, there’d be nothing left to worry about.

Zhong Rui replied seriously, "Already ran the numbers, but I doubt the system would leave an exploit that obvious."

Wouldn’t it be a joke if the whole place went up in flames?

"Let’s try it," Su Han pushed.

"Alright, but hold on," Zhong Rui said.

They collected rocks, stacked a stone firepit, and had dinner. Once everything was ready, Zhong Rui gave her the go-ahead.

Instead of going straight for the lighter, Su Han pulled out a bucket of diesel.

Zhong Rui’s eyes lit up. "Oh right, you’ve still got like forty barrels of diesel."

"Right. It’s the final showdown anyway—might as well use up all our stockpiled supplies." With that, Su Han splashed the diesel onto the trees, ground, and grass piles to fuel the fire, then took out a lighter and ignited it.

But just then, a robotic system voice blared in their ears, sounding unusually stern. "Warning! Warning! Your actions will lead to severe unknown consequences. Stop now."

The message repeated three times, as if emphasizing the gravity of the situation.

Su Han froze, then sighed. "The system’s blocking us."

"What do you mean?" Zhong Rui frowned.

Su Han handed him the lighter, gesturing for him to try it himself.

Zhong Rui didn’t hesitate—he flicked the lighter. The moment the fire flickered to life, the same warning echoed in his ears.

"I kinda wanna see what happens," Zhong Rui said, itching to try.

Su Han pretended not to hear and said calmly, "If the system forbids it, we’re not lighting the fire." She wasn’t about to tempt fate.

Zhong Rui’s face fell.

**

As night fell, a cool breeze whispered through the trees, bringing a slight chill.

Zhong Rui was about to ask his companion if she needed a blanket when he saw Su Han take out a tent and sleeping bag, then beckon to him. "Come here."

Zhong Rui mentally sighed. With her being so capable, where was his chance to shine? Felt like he was getting freeloader treatment... Despite his thoughts, he moved quickly, slipping into the tent.

Not far away, the flames flickered. The stone campfire occasionally crackled, making the surroundings seem even quieter.

Moonlight pooled around them, stars glittering overhead.

Zhong Rui’s expression shifted slightly, about to say something, when the person beside him spoke seriously, "We need someone to keep watch tonight. We’ll split the shifts. Do you want first or second half?"

No wonder she’s single—she’s a pro at it.

Instantly, all his thoughts vanished. "‘Whatever,’ he muttered."

"Then you take the first half, and I’ll take the second," Su Han decided swiftly. She patted his shoulder cheerfully. "Good luck with that."

Zhong Rui watched as she fell asleep without hesitation. In no time, she was in deep slumber.

Yet here she was, conked out beside him. With such beautiful moonlight, shouldn’t they be sitting side by side, chatting under the stars? How could she just fall asleep?!

Zhong Rui choked back his frustration but had no choice. In the end, he just mindlessly fed sticks to the fire.

Suddenly, he remembered something and froze. His head snapped toward Su Han—if he recalled correctly, when they first teamed up, she couldn’t sleep even when they were together. She could only sleep soundly solo. But now, despite being with him, she fell asleep quickly. Was this... trust?

At this thought, Zhong Rui couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile. Though he tried hard to conceal it, the smile came from deep within and was impossible to hide.

The night was uneventful.

As dawn broke, Su Han seemed to sense something and slowly opened her eyes. When she realized it was nearly morning, she froze abruptly, hurriedly stood up, and kept saying, "You stayed up all night without rest, right? Sorry, I overslept... Wait, why didn't you wake me?"

Zhong Rui yawned lazily and replied, "We can switch shifts now. You keep watch here while I catch up on sleep."

"Alright, leave it to me," Su Han agreed solemnly.

Zhong Rui, yawning incessantly, plopped down onto the sleeping bag after just a few steps and immediately fell into a deep slumber.

Su Han rested her chin on her hand, drifting off into thought. She was crazy strong—like, top-tier strong—the kind that makes people want to ride her coattails. But this kind of special treatment was new, and it felt rather novel...

Author's note: All the information was researched.

**

Q: How long have you been single?

Su Han (raising an eyebrow): That a roundabout way to ask my age?

Zhong Rui (grumbling): Even her single status is at a boss level—perfect in every damn way.