Slacking off in the Game of Survival

Chapter 22 Dark Rock Incident(end)

Day seven, the rain was unusually fierce.

Fortunately, Qian Yue had dug trenches at the door in advance, and combined with the terrain, the water level outside the house remained safe.

To prevent rain from seeping in, she used extra stones to block the entire entrance, leaving only one window for ventilation.

The rainwater rushed against the surface of the stone house, corroding the vines that were originally hanging outside. Even the surface of the stones bore marks.

Inside the house, Qian Yue sat quietly next to the fireplace, closing her eyes to rest. Her relaxed demeanor seemed like she lived in two completely different worlds.

She was waiting for her prey to take the bait.

Through testing, Qian Yue discovered that when a character’s mental points dropped to the range of 40 to 50, the 【Depression】 buff would increase the chance of encountering aggressive monsters by 5%.

In the range of 30 to 40, it was called 【Debilitation Depression】 and the encountering probability increased to 10%. This was also the maximum value achievable while remaining clear-headed.

If the value continued to decrease, hallucinations would occur.

After repeating this process several times, Qian Yue consciously kept her mental points within the range of 30 to 40 and finally encountered two or three aggressive monsters.

Ultimately, she obtained an Item Fragment (craft) from an unknown species.

Prior to this, Qian Yue had already found one Item Fragment (craft), and there was also one among the three items that Du Yuanlang used to apologize.

Combining the three pieces and adding a synthesis stone…

“Damn.”

Qian Yue felt like she had simply put things together and suddenly a white light flashed before her eyes. In an instant, a complete gas mask appeared in her hand.

It had a deep green hood, two circular glass pieces as eye shields, and an attached filter, resembling a mouthpiece from a zombie movie.

Overall, this design, or rather lack thereof, truly lived up to its simple and “ordinary” name.

“… This is so ugly, was it designed by a terrible artist?”

The Item Merchant wouldn’t wear something like this, right?

Qian Yue silently criticized in her mind, and it was at this moment that the system’s voice rang in her ears once again.

【Emergency Broadcast】

【Due to severe weather conditions and travel is not advisable, interdimensional connections have been interrupted. The Item Merchant will no longer appear in this instance.】

【Emergency Broadcast】

【Due to severe weather conditions…】

…

Well, it seemed she didn’t need to worry about what the Item Merchant would look like wearing this mask anymore— he simply wouldn’t show up.

She held it in her hand and examined it for a good half minute. In the end, Qian Yue numbly took off the mask and silently picked up the face mask to put on.

Ultimately, it proved that no matter how attractive a face was, it couldn’t withstand the impact of a gas mask.

…

This acid rain lasted for two full days.

From land to sea, ecosystems collapsed step by step.

At the same time, the climate didn’t cool down with the rain; instead, the temperature continued to rise, causing the stamina of players in hot areas to rapidly decline.

The gas mask could purify gases but couldn’t change the weather, so Qian Yue spent another two days comfortably lazing around in her house.

Since the house was constructed very securely, compared to most players, she was living quite comfortably.

Day eight of the game, the intensity of the volcanic eruption gradually weakened, and the rain also stopped.

At the same time, it was noticeably apparent that the sky was no longer as dark as before.

The surviving players everywhere showed joy on their faces, thinking that their difficult days were finally coming to an end, but they ignored the fact that this was a survival game.

In total, there were ten days. The first day would be considered good if it was slightly easier, but as they moved forward, the days would only become more difficult.

Qian Yue squinted her eyes and murmured, “This is not a good sign.”

With the volcano ceasing its eruption, it meant that the period of freezing was about to come.

When the entire world freezes, there will be almost nothing left.

Coupled with the sudden disappearance of the treasure merchant in this round of the instance, the players’ situation would only become more challenging.

Even Qian Yue’s own supplies were not considered abundant – after all, the consumption rate in the past few days had exceeded her expectations.

Fortunately, Qian Yue didn’t have much pursue of a high-quality life. It would be enough for her to pass the remaining days comfortably.

Day nine, the eternal night continued.

A little sunlight penetrated through the clouds, greatly improving visibility.

However, it was followed by a sudden drop in temperature.

Due to the accelerated progress of the game, there was a significant temperature difference in a short period of time. The moment Qian Yue stepped out of the stone house, she almost reflexively sneezed.

It was too cold.

It was even comparable to the coldness of the previous instance.

But there wasn’t a single snowflake in sight.

The whole world was covered in frost overnight as if someone had pressed the rapid freeze mode.

Trees withered, and mountains and rivers were frozen. Looking around, there was hardly any sign of life.

In places that should have been oceans in the distance, although it couldn’t be seen clearly in the dark night, Qian Yue knew that they had already turned into glaciers.

She murmured, “I heard that during this time, the entire sea freezes, and you can even walk across it for a long distance. I didn’t expect it to be true.”

…Itched her curiosity.

After waiting for so many days, she wanted to see the full extent of the disaster with her own eyes in the end. Unfortunately, there was still one last night, and she couldn’t take risks at the moment.

Just standing outside for a short while caused her three attributes to drop rapidly.

She quickly returned to the house and started a fire.

Due to the ecological collapse, the oxygen content in the air was terrifyingly low. Even the firewood that usually ignites with a single spark took several attempts today to start a fire.

Even after it was lit, the fire looked malnourished, as if it would extinguish the next second.

In such an environment, even with a gas mask, Qian Yue felt it was difficult to breathe.

She secretly speculated, “On this day, I’m afraid many people will die from altitude sickness.”

…

Day ten of the game, the sun rose as usual. The first ray of light pierced through the clouds, and the sky transitioned from dark to overcast, indicating that the eternal night was about to end.

Qian Yue packed up the items she was going to bring to the next instance and eagerly embarked on her “outing.”

In the previous few days, she had been busy with survival and didn’t have time to stop and appreciate the scenery of this instance.

The prehistoric behemoths frozen in ice, the valleys and straits formed by the reshaping of the continent…

And—

At the end of the horizon, is the dark rock mountain range left behind by the volcano’s eruption.

Qian Yue stood on the glacier, her black cloak swirling in the fierce wind, as if she were the only person left in the whole world.

If someone were to check her attributes window at this moment, they would find a long list of negative buffs such as【frostbite,】【oxygen deprivation,】【hunger,】【mental fatigue,】 and so on.

If any other player saw it, they would probably cry out in despair.

But Qian Yue didn’t care. This time, on this “outing,” she had stocked up on all the supplies.

After all, her character’s status would automatically be restored to full after the instance was over. She just needed to make sure she didn’t die.

“Half an hour left.”

She let out a sigh, as if a breath of impurity had finally been expelled from her chest. Her entire being became calm.

Half an hour later, Qian Yue finished gnawing on the last piece of hard bread she had. The instance was declared over.

She returned once again to that pure white space and this time, Qian Yue patiently listened to everything.

【Congratulations to player Qian Yue for completing the second round of the instance challenge.】

【Your level has increased.】

【Your talent skill has undergone subtle changes, slightly improving your success rate.】

Qian Yue paused for a moment before realizing that the talent skill mentioned was pickpocketing.

—Wait, so this thing had a success rate before? But she had never failed before.

Qian Yue felt puzzled and decided to check the game forum after she finished.

【You have gained 30 attribute points, which can be allocated now or temporarily sealed.】

Qian Yue, “Allocate them evenly between health and stamina, adding fifteen points each.”

In future instances, she might need to use the low mental points buff for fishing, so Qian Yue didn’t plan on raising her mental points too high.

【Allocation completed.】

【Here is an overview of your character.】

Name: Qian Yue

Occupation: Beggar

Level: 3

Health: 130/130

Stamina: 125/125

Mental Points: 95/95
【Remaining items in the backpack: Ice pick x1, Snow shovel x1…】

The last outing had depleted all the consumable items on Qian Yue, so her bag now only had those tools left.

【You have advanced.】

【After this instance, the system will randomly seek opinions from closed beta players and continue to improve in future instances. We thank all players for your active cooperation.】

【The next round of instances will begin in five days. Please pay attention to your email notification and participate on time.】

Qian Yue exited the nutrition pod, still slightly unable to recover from the emotions of the last moments.

She poured herself a glass of water to calm down, preparing to call
Qian Chi and ask about the forum, but he beat her to it.

Qian Chi, excitedly, “Sis! You finally answered the call!”

Qian Yue calmly sipped her water. “Speak.”

Qian Chi, “I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”

Qian Yue thought for a moment. “Good news.”

Qian Chi, “The good news is: I passed the second level!”

Qian Yue, “…This is something to be proud about? I passed too.”

Qian Chi, “…”

He had been quite proud, but for some reason, when his sister said “I passed too,” Qian Chi suddenly felt deflated.

After a moment of dejection, Qian Chi suddenly realized that Qian Yue had just said “I passed too.”

He became excited and exclaimed, “You’re not planning to quit the game?”

Qian Yue responded with a soft “Mhm.”

Although her emotions were slightly suppressed during the final moments, overall, she was very satisfied with the Dark Rock incident instance this time.

She had even begun to look forward to the content of the next instance.

Qian Chi immediately became ecstatic and said, “That’s great! I’ve been telling you, this game is really popular. Many people want to play but can’t get a slot…”

Seeing that Qian Chi was about to launch into a lengthy speech, Qian Yue quickly interrupted him and asked, “Let’s talk about the game later. What’s the bad news?”

Qian Chi’s excitement instantly dissipated.

He stammered, “…So, about this… Be mentally prepared first and don’t get angry at me.”

Qian Yue paused. “What trouble have you caused again?”

Qian Chi got defensive. “What do you mean ‘again’? Wait, this has nothing to do with me, okay? I just happened to overhear it and came to tell you immediately!”

“…”

Qian Yue suddenly had a foreboding feeling.

In a hushed voice, Qian Chi continued, “I accidentally overheard that while you were on vacation, Mom seems to have arranged another blind date for you. Be mentally prepared; it’s probably happening in the next couple of days.”

“The other person’s name seems to be… uh, Qi Feng?”

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