Slacking off in the Game of Survival

Chapter 50 Above the Wasteland(10)

“Why is it you?!”

The man exclaimed in surprise, and Qian Yue looked up at him, immediately bursting into laughter.

“Well, what a coincidence.”

Hong Mingyuan’s expression turned peculiar. “Why is it you again…”

Qian Yue chuckled coldly, “I’m also curious how you haven’t been eliminated yet. Did the native people go easy on you? Or were they gentle when they attacked?”

Hong Mingyuan replied with a grimace, “…” Just the mention of this topic ignited his anger.

Another person’s gaze towards them suddenly became vigilant. “Do you know each other?”

“…” Hong Mingyuan was momentarily unsure how to respond, but Qian Yue, upon hearing this, turned her head to look at that person.

With just that look, she understood the situation.

Although these two people arrived together, their positioning indicated they were seemingly guarding against each other.

Qian Yue immediately understood and directly asked the male player she didn’t recognize, “Are you his new teammate?”

After a quick scan from head to toe, Qian Yue suddenly displayed a look of astonishment. Although it was just a glimpse, she distinctly remembered that when she encountered Hong Mingyuan in the explosion pit yesterday, he seemed to be accompanied by a female player…

Qian Yue paused, connecting her thoughts about Hong Mingyuan’s strange expression when she mentioned the native people. She immediately grasped the situation. Given the extent of his cunningness, it was highly likely he had sold out his teammate to save himself.

Qian Yue sneered and looked at Hong Mingyuan with a meaningful glance. “No wonder.”

Hong Mingyuan’s expression changed.

From her series of expressions change just now, he could roughly guess what Qian Yue was realizing.

Hong Mingyuan muttered to himself, “Is this person unusually observant? How can she be so perceptive?” He realized he couldn’t continue talking to her.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of Qian Yue uncovering his plan — after all, he and the person beside him had already clashed due to the gun incident, and the other person knew his initial intentions for finding a teammate. But Hong Mingyuan was worried that if Qian Yue realized his gun was ready, it might attract further competition for his own plan.

So he quickly reached out to pull the other player and said to Qian Yue, “We have urgent matters, so let’s not chat too long.”

Hong Mingyuan was eager to leave, but the other male player wasn’t aware of the complicated situation between him and Qian Yue. Sensing that something was off between them, he evaded Hong Mingyuan’s hand and directly asked, “Did you see a man run past just now?”

“Oh, I saw him,” Qian Yue replied.

Both men were taken aback, and the male player asked urgently,

“Where?”

Qian Yue tilted her head towards Hong Mingyuan and made a gesture with her lips. “Isn’t he right here?”

Both men were momentarily puzzled, then quickly realized they had been played. Their expressions turned extremely grim.

“Are you ducking with us?” a man’s eyes flashed with hostility, seemingly ready to act.

Qian Yue’s heart suddenly raced.

Not out of fear, but out of anticipation.

“Calm down,” Hong Mingyuan quickly signaled to the man with his eyes, urging him not to act impulsively. For some reason, even though he had never clashed directly with Qian Yue, he inexplicably felt uneasy when confronted by her calm and composed eyes.

Seeing the man being restrained, Qian Yue felt somewhat disappointed.

She casually restrained her smile and corrected herself, “I lied to you, I haven’t seen anyone.”

Hong Mingyuan was half skeptical. “You really haven’t seen anyone?”

They were in a remote area, and a bombing had just occurred. Foot traffic was extremely rare. They had rushed over here as fast as possible, but besides Qian Yue, they hadn’t seen anyone else. That’s why they had approached her without hesitation.

Hong Mingyuan was anxious, but he couldn’t directly ask Qian Yue if she had seen a man with a gun.

Because doing so would expose him.

Qian Yue knew he had the blueprint for the gun. The only possibility for that gun was him.

With this male player competing with him for the gun, Hong Mingyuan was already troubled enough. They hadn’t fought because the gun had been taken away, so they had temporarily teamed up to track the whereabouts of Yuan Dongqi.

Hong Mingyuan didn’t want to give himself another competitor by accidentally revealing too much.

The male player said with a warning tone, “Let me make this clear upfront, don’t trick us.”

Qian Yue impatiently replied, “I said I haven’t seen him.”

It had been nearly ten minutes since she had seen Yuan Dongqi.

So, if you understand it from the perspective of “just now,” she indeed hadn’t seen anyone just now. Therefore, Qian Yue’s response was straightforward.

The two men stared at her for half a second, exchanged a discreet glance, as if assessing her credibility. However, Qian Yue’s mental resilience was too strong; there were no discernible flaws on her face, so they had no choice but to let it go.

Hong Mingyuan’s face turned gloomy. “Let’s go, continue the chase.”
Watching them turn away, Qian Yue felt a bit regretful.

She was still hoping to be robbed.

Well, never mind. While there’s no one around, she should quickly gather some materials and head back.

However, just as she was thinking this, as she turned to leave, a sudden change occurred!

In an instant, Qian Yue’s aura shifted, and she instinctively turned her head to grip the wrist of the person next to her! Yet, even though she reacted quickly, it was still slower than the activation of the game skill. Suddenly, her backpack became lighter, and just as she held onto that person’s wrist, something extra appeared on it—

The male player erupted in anger, “The gun is really with you! You encountered him earlier!”

Hong Mingyuan exclaimed, “It’s my gun!”

Qian Yue retorted, “What’s yours— this is mine.”

Regardless of how assertive she sounded, those two men’s attitudes immediately changed.

Hong Mingyuan directly lunged at the male player, while the latter quickly transferred the gun from the hand held by Qian Yue to his other hand. In a fluid motion, he sidestepped Hong Mingyuan’s attack, and using the gun’s stock, he struck the latter’s back forcefully. Simultaneously, he twisted his wrist to break free from Qian Yue’s grasp.

“Damn it, give it back to me!”

Hong Mingyuan, who had fallen, somehow managed to stand up again and charged at the man from behind. For the sake of that gun, the two engaged in a fierce physical fight, exchanging blows without holding back, each punch landing solidly!

Qian Yue calmly sidestepped a bit, then bent down to pick up the backpack that had fallen during the scuffle.

As her hand touched the two pouches on the backpack, something unexpected happened. Hong Mingyuan suddenly gained the upper hand.
In the next moment, he quickly seized the object protected within, and the male player subconsciously tried to take it back but was fiercely kicked away by Hong Mingyuan!

The kick was forceful, causing the male player to cry out in pain and instinctively curl up. Seizing the opportunity, Hong Mingyuan rolled and got back on his feet, then with a swift motion, he pulled back the gun’s safety catch!

Meanwhile, Qian Yue had just firmly gripped the backpack.

Hong Mingyuan shouted, “No one move!”

“Damn it!” the male player muttered under his breath, his body instinctively tensing up.

Meanwhile, Qian Yue slowly straightened up, perfectly slinging both backpacks over her shoulders. The fabric rustled, emitting a faint sound.

Hong Mingyuan’s gun barrel turned with a “swish“!

“Don’t move!”

Qian Yue looked up at him.

Only then did Hong Mingyuan realize that at some point, their backpacks had been picked up by Qian Yue. His face immediately grew grave. “Put everything down, or I’ll end you!”

Qian Yue remained still.

Hong Mingyuan held the gun, his emotions highly charged. “I told you to put everything down! Believe me, when I say I’ll end you.”

Qian Yue: =.=

She rolled her eyes and suddenly took a step forward. “You’re really odd. You don’t want me to move, yet you want me to put things down.”

Seeing her approach, Hong Mingyuan immediately retreated a step, alert and wary. “What are you doing? Stop right there! I’m about to shoot!”

Qian Yue looked innocently puzzled. “Didn’t you ask me to put things down for you? You were too far away just now, so even if I put them down, you wouldn’t be able to reach them.”

Hong Mingyuan didn’t believe her nonsense. He held the gun, extremely cautious. The male player beside him moved slightly, and he immediately aimed at the latter. The male player quickly raised his hands, signaling that he hadn’t done anything.

Only Qian Yue seemed completely unafraid, continuing to advance.

Hong Mingyuan shouted loudly, “It’s right there! Don’t move forward! Otherwise, I’ll shoot.”

Qian Yue chuckled lightly, unperturbed.

A ruthless glint flashed in Hong Mingyuan’s eyes. “Since that’s the case, don’t blame me for being impolite—”

Before he could finish speaking, he pulled the trigger. At the same time, Qian Yue suddenly reached out and grabbed onto the barrel of his gun. She pressed herself right up to the muzzle!

The trigger had been pulled, and fearing blood might splash onto his face, Hong Mingyuan instinctively closed his eyes. Even the male player beside them turned his head away. At that very moment, a “bang” sounded—

But it wasn’t the sound of a gunshot.

Hong Mingyuan opened his eyes. There was no blood splatter, no gruesome scene as he imagined. What he saw was the other end of the gun barrel, and Qian Yue’s mouth forming the shape of the sound “bang,” revealing a mischievously triumphant smile.

Hong Mingyuan was taken aback, quickly trying to pull the trigger again, but all he got was a series of empty clicks!

“How could this happen?!”

Qian Yue remained composed. “Sorry, I forgot to remind you. I had already disarmed the bullets inside.”

Hong Mingyuan: !!!

Qian Yue didn’t miss his moment of shock, immediately realizing what was happening.

Just as she suspected.

When Hong Mingyuan first mentioned the blueprint to her, he only mentioned it was for a gun. He never mentioned anything about the magazine from start to finish. At that time, Qian Yue guessed that even if the gun was created, it would likely have only the magazine that came with it. Obtaining additional magazines would require other means.

Due to her background as a beggar in her profession, Qian Yue was cautious about storing items. Before leaving, she disassembled the gun and the magazine to avoid being caught off guard. She didn’t expect it to actually come in handy.

Hong Mingyuan exclaimed, “You, damn it!”

He swung the gun barrel towards Qian Yue, attempting to strike her, but he didn’t realize that Qian Yue, who outwardly appeared uncoordinated, was already prepared!

Her smile disappeared in an instant as Qian Yue tightly gripped the gun barrel. In the next moment, she slightly moved her waist to shorten the distance between them. Before Hong Mingyuan could react to what was happening, he suddenly received a powerful punch to his waist. This was followed by hits to his jaw, armpits, and other sensitive areas…

“Thud.”

Hong Mingyuan knelt.

At the same time, after learning that the gun was essentially an empty gun barrel, the male player who had been crouching nearby also made his move! However, his target wasn’t the gun; it was the two backpacks on Qian Yue’s back—

Qian Yue, “Got addicted to stealing, huh?!”

Male player, “Those are my bags!”

Qian Yue, “Once they’re in my hands, they’re mine!”

One minute later, there was another “thud.” The male player also grimaced in pain as he clutched a certain area, falling beside Hong Mingyuan. They collapsed neatly in tandem.

“You despicable…”

Qian Yue sighed, shook her tired hand, and complained, “I told you not to mess with me. I’m not doing this willingly, you know.”

*

With an unexpected gain of two backpacks, Qian Yue didn’t even bother with the explosion pit. She headed straight back to her home base. With the resources in these two packs, she estimated that she could sustain herself until the end of the scenario.
When Qian Yue returned to the Cat Ear Cave, Yuan Dongqi had already woken up.

The board at the entrance was lifted, and the glaring light suddenly illuminated the cave. Yuan Dongqi instinctively squinted her eyes, clearly uncomfortable.

However, Qian Yue was focused on her loot, and after a quick glance at the awake Yuan Dongqi, she turned her attention back. The board at the entrance was closed again, and Qian Yue raised her hand to tap somewhere above her head. Soon, a beam of light descended, illuminating a corner of the cave.

Opening her stat window, Qian Yue was visibly frowning as she looked at the various dropped values.

It must be said that fighting was truly a resource-intensive activity. Qian Yue had used several items in succession to restore her character’s condition.
Her frowned eyebrows visibly relaxed a bit, but her mood was still not great.

Reflecting on her game experiences thus far, Qian Yue realized her luck was somewhat odd.

She had never won any special items from the daily draws, yet she seemed exceptionally lucky in peculiar situations. For instance, encountering unsuspecting targets or being robbed midway.

As she hadn’t initially planned on continuing with the game, Qian Yue hadn’t intentionally stored resources or built wealth during her first instance. Consequently, her resources weren’t particularly abundant at the start of each instance, at most just enough to keep herself fed.

Oddly, whenever she felt her resources were running low, troublemakers always seemed to find her.

Qian Yue considered herself a righteous individual who never initiated aggression or engaged in malicious acts. Yet, she inevitably attracted troublemakers who provided her with opportunities for self-defense.

Throughout the four instances, she always encountered such individuals.

It was almost more precise and considerate than the delivery service from the Milky Way Express.

Qian Yue even couldn’t help but wonder, “Is this some kind of miraculous golden finger trope?”

“Or is the game system subtly suggesting that, apart from living off its daily allowance, there are other ways to earn a living?”

However, it was unlikely she would become a righteous and heroic character. With Qian Yue’s lazy demeanor, the most she would do is defend herself when trouble arose. And before she took action, she deliberately gave them two to three seconds to consider whether they really wanted to fight.

—Although those individuals always felt they had been provoked, became enraged, and acted faster.

Qian Yue sighed to herself, “Fighting not only wastes energy and consumes health points but also hurts. Unfortunately, these people will never understand my good intentions.”

Yuan Dongqi who was beside her, “…”

For some reason, he suddenly felt an urge to sneeze, but his hands and feet were bound, and something was blocking his mouth. Moreover, the Cat Ear Cave was narrow, leaving him immobilized and unable to make any sound.

The only thing Yuan Dongqi could do was to turn his head slightly and gaze at Qian Yue with intense eyes, hoping to catch her attention.

Unfortunately, Qian Yue’s attention weren’t focused on him at all.

Despite her outwardly lazy appearance, in reality, she was eagerly contemplating which package to open first. Should she start with Hong Mingyuan’s? He looked like a crafty character. On the other hand, the other guy was a professional beggar, skilled in his natural abilities. His worth was probably not negligible either…

Perhaps due to her inherent nature as a woman, Qian Yue couldn’t help but feel an odd overlap between this urgent moment and the joy she experienced when unpacking deliveries or blind boxes.