Chapter 6: Achieving the Art of ‘No Honor in Combat’

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Yu Jiang spent the night organizing all her supplies. In her hands were iron blocks and rubber—materials needed to upgrade her vehicle. However, she decided not to upgrade or repair the window now. Instead, she planned to run a hundred kilometers tomorrow, fight a few monsters, and then consider upgrades. After upgrading, the wear level would reset to its initial state.

Time had reached the third day of the novice period.

It was drizzling, the temperature was 20 degrees Celsius, humidity was 100%, and the wind was level 4. Not exactly cold, but with the rain and no shelter, traveling on an uncovered vehicle would undoubtedly increase resistance. Without a windproof, warm jacket, it would be even harder.

On the public chat screen, sellers of motorcycle rain covers and raincoats had doubled their prices, taking advantage of the situation. Currently, no one really knew how to use Crystal Coins, but many were still collecting them through trades. Those who only had Crystal Coins and few supplies had already been taken advantage of.

Yu Jiang had just killed four zombies along the way, two of which appeared simultaneously. She ran and fought around her three-wheeled vehicle the entire time. Her combat power stats were low, but she was good at evasion and endurance!

Her folding knife was sharp but had the drawback of a very short attack range. Before she could even reach the zombies, she lost 10 health points. A wooden stick suited her better. The folding knife had to be used with a hallucinogenic powder to stun enemies for five seconds—enough time to jab into the zombies’ eye sockets and turn them into a sieve.

When on the brink of life and death, one truly could unleash hidden potential.

From the messages on the public screen, it was clear that a light scratch didn’t cause much health loss, but a bite was disastrous. Even a minor bite meant a minimum of 30 health points lost, with a 50% chance of triggering a bleeding debuff that drained one health point per minute for up to 30 minutes. People with low defense who were bitten in vital areas would die within two minutes.

Many lamented how friends they had just added yesterday now had their names blacked out, marked as deleted accounts.

[Congratulations, player, for killing 5 “Infected” during the novice period. Such low attack power is truly astonishing! Achievement unlocked: “Unethical Tactics” — circling, throwing stones, stabbing then running, no combat power, all tricks that dazzle the eye. Wearing this boosts attack, defense, and agility by 3% (or 5% if below 100).]

Yu Jiang wanted to protest, wondering where she had been unethical, but seeing the high bonus, she fell silent and quickly equipped it. For now, she could only wear one achievement, naturally choosing the best one.

Around 4 p.m., Yu Jiang had traveled 95 kilometers. After changing the battery, she moved forward again. She only had 267 Crystal Coins in total; except for the first zombie, the subsequent kills didn’t grant nearly as many.

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Ahead, a sign read: Service Station 520 meters.

[Congratulations, player! You have traveled 100 kilometers in one day! Total novice period mileage: 200 kilometers! Achievement unlocked: “Star of Tomorrow.” Reward: Level 1 Survivor Supply Blind Box. Sent to your temporary inventory; please check!]

[Road reminder: All service stations are on the parallel highway. Fighting is prohibited inside the service stations. Please abide by the rules.]

She hadn’t received any solo missions—perhaps because she wasn’t the first to reach 200 kilometers?

Vehicle wear level: 56%, caused by zombie attacks.

From the outside, the three-wheeler already looked battle-worn. Considering the uncertain conditions at the service station, she decided not to upgrade for now.

After a moment of hesitation, Yu Jiang turned the handlebars and drove onto the parallel highway where the service station was located. Not many had reached 200 kilometers yet.

She traveled 500 meters along the parallel highway until she saw the illuminated sign of the service station, but no other vehicles were in sight.

The service station surprised her. It looked less like a station and more like an abandoned post-apocalyptic town. The first things she saw were a dilapidated gas station and a convenience store.

Further ahead, old houses lined both sides of the road. Some had only a single blackened wall left; roofs and doors were missing.

The faint growls of zombies could be heard.

The service station area included only the gas station and store buildings. There was open space in front and behind for parking. Passing through the gate, a green display lit up beside it:

[This station is absolutely safe. Maximum stay of 2 days allowed. Electric tricycle parking fee: 100 Crystal Coins per day, 5 Crystal Coins per hour. Less than one hour counts as one hour.]

So this was what she had to wait for. Without money, she couldn’t even enter the service station.

[Detected entry into service station. Please purchase a parking card.]

Two purchase options appeared on the screen: the first was a one-hour parking card with a free additional hour, limited to one purchase; the second was a regular card with no discounts and no purchase limits.

Below, a small line read: Parking card prices are consistent across all service stations.

So there were still items with inconsistent pricing?

Yu Jiang bought the discounted card and swiped in for one hour.

Three gas pumps were broken, two completely out of order, but the electric vehicle charging spots were functional.

Prices were high, requiring purchase of fuel cards and charging cards.

Gasoline cost 200 Crystal Coins per liter; charging was much cheaper. Her three-wheeler could be fully charged for 100 Crystal Coins.

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However, she had several drained batteries, and her Crystal Coins were far from enough.

Yu Jiang took the key, got out, slung her backpack on, and took her folding knife and sharp stones, heading toward the only store with lights on.

Vehicles locked automatically and were bound to their drivers; no one else could drive them, even if the player died. Plus, vehicles parked here were protected by the service station.

The convenience store had few items, with shelves serving mostly as decoration.

Behind the counter stood a dingy gray rabbit plush toy.

On the wall hung a sign: Recyclable Supplies—Once past this village, no more stores (no junk accepted).

Batteries, gasoline, and engines could be recycled here, but the prices were outrageously high.

On another screen were items for sale.

Besides fuel and charging cards, the store sold food, clothing, even bathing supplies and shower cards.

This service station offered showers and laundry for 20 Crystal Coins per 20 minutes, but only washing was allowed—no drinking.

Food and drink were exorbitantly priced: a self-heating rice meal was 88 Crystal Coins, a bottle of mineral water 20 Crystal Coins, and a serving of oden 50 Crystal Coins...

The cheapest food was a blackish protein block; two pieces could last a day and cost only 5 Crystal Coins.

(So cheap, why bother with a bicycle? It wouldn’t kill you anyway.)

Yu Jiang stared at the rectangular item, recalling a movie where protein blocks were made from cockroaches.

Additionally, the station offered vehicle repair services: the cheapest two- or three-wheeled electric vehicles cost 500 Crystal Coins for repair, with gasoline vehicles costing even more.

Solar rechargeable batteries were also available, but low power ones that only powered light bulbs or small cooking devices cost 500 Crystal Coins.

Yu Jiang looked at the rabbit plush’s red eyes and smiled bitterly at her poverty.

There were many things she wanted, but no money to buy them.

In the end, she spent 20 Crystal Coins on a shower card, 200 Crystal Coins on a discounted vehicle rabbit ornament with an automatic cleaning function, limited to one per station, and 10 Crystal Coins on a portable washing kit.

Yu Jiang felt utterly drained, left with only 27 Crystal Coins. She looked toward the ruined buildings, hoping to scavenge some supplies.

Most survivors likely didn’t know about the service station yet, so the nearby area should be relatively untouched.

Plus, the buff that prevented monsters from actively attacking at night was still active.

Yu Jiang slung on her backpack, gripped her weapons, and resolutely walked out of the service station through the exit.

The vehicle had to stay parked here; once outside, she could not return.

As Yu Jiang stepped away, the gate to the vehicle entrance behind her rang with the sound of a bicycle bell.