Chapter Five: A Bountiful Harvest

"Don't be reckless. If you want a soda, we can find one somewhere else."

Seeing the situation, Liang Yi walked over and grabbed Wu Can’s raised hand. The men nearby were all tall and burly, sporting either shaved heads or tattoos. Liang Yi knew that while she couldn't afford to provoke them, she could certainly afford to avoid them.

Wu Can looked at Liang Yi, then at the tall man who was fighting over the goods with him, and pulled his hand back.

"Fine, drink it then. Drink until you drop, for all I care."

With that, Wu Can grabbed Liang Yi’s arm, nimbly squeezed through the crowd, and dashed outside the supermarket. The man, due to his massive build, couldn't squeeze out in time and could only glare at them in frustration. He stood over six feet tall and must have weighed at least 160 or 170 pounds; if he managed to break free, they might not be able to take him in a fight.

Liang Yi quickly started the vehicle, urged Wu Can—who was still busy provoking the man—to get on, and sped away.

She found an alleyway and pulled the vehicle inside. The town was filled with houses, but aside from a few shops, the residential buildings were empty, much like newly constructed shells with nothing inside. Staying in a house was no different from staying on the street. To prevent the vehicle from being stolen, the two chose to stay outside to eat.

Wu Can was surprisingly generous, sharing some of the supplies he had looted with Liang Yi. Liang Yi shared some of her own as well, though, in the end, she still came out ahead. Among her haul were two portions of self-heating rice. Although she didn't have hot water, the heating packs provided enough warmth. The two sat on the ground, stuffing something warm into their stomachs.

Liang Yi hadn't looted much, and knowing that everything would disappear tomorrow, she planned to eat it all. While halfway through her meal, she scanned her surroundings and suddenly spotted a box in a nearby corner.

Her eyes fixed on it, she stood up and walked over with her lunch box. Wu Can, thinking she had encountered some emergency, hurriedly stuffed his remaining supplies into a plastic bag with his half-eaten meal still in his mouth. To his confusion, he only saw Liang Yi perform a few phantom motions while crouching on the ground. But moments later, she held several items in her hands.

The treasure chest Liang Yi opened was a black Tier 1 chest containing only basic supplies: two packs of instant noodles and two raw eggs. Eggs and noodles were a great combination, but without a pot, the eggs were of little use.

"Sis, are you doing magic tricks?" Wu Can asked, taking the box out of his mouth while still clutching his wiggle car under his arm, looking completely shocked. It was clear he didn't yet realize that the chests visible to each player were different.

Liang Yi handed him a pack of noodles and an egg, repaying him for the water and noodles he had given her earlier, before explaining.

"No. There was a box sitting there just now."

Wu Can put his things down, rubbed his eyes just as Liang Yi had done, but still saw nothing. "Where? Sis, I’m not stupid, and I’m not blind. You can't just fool me like that."

Liang Yi explained that when he was opening his chest earlier, she hadn't seen it either. She then shared the information she had received from the Game Assistant, framing it as a hypothesis. "So, I think the chests everyone sees are different."

Wu Can nodded thoughtfully. "It seems this game requires cooperation if we want to get more supplies."

He expressed his desire to cooperate again, but Liang Yi heard him and said nothing. After all, they hadn't known each other long, and his overly familiar nature was a liability in a game filled with danger and cutthroat human nature.

Once they were full, Liang Yi continued to drive through the town. During the trip, she found several more black Tier 1 chests, obtaining a pair of shoes, two 50ml bottles of mineral water, two chocolate bars, three packs of instant noodles, and a loaf of bread. She also found one white chest, which yielded a bottle of Red Bull and a fruit knife.

The town was huge, but Liang Yi didn't dare to search further. The tricycle was electric, and she had received the vehicle's specifications when she acquired it: a full charge only lasted for 60 kilometers. They had already traveled eight kilometers, and there was still a long way to go. Plus, with a burden like Wu Can in tow, she had to leave a margin of safety to ensure they reached the service area before the battery died.

Furthermore, it was already past one o'clock. She didn't know if there were other dangers on the road, so they needed to set off early.

"Sis, what do you say we just stay here? We have food and drink, no need to worry about danger," Wu Can lamented before they left.

Liang Yi didn't try to persuade him; she simply tilted her head and said expressionlessly, "If you want to stay here, I'm leaving."

Wu Can immediately turned around and scrambled onto his wiggle car. "Sis, I was just joking! You definitely can't take me seriously!"

Liang Yi said nothing and started the vehicle.

After traveling for a dozen minutes, they left the town. Before departing, Liang Yi noticed many people still inside; those hitting the road were mostly players on bicycles, balance bikes, or other slow-moving vehicles.

Once they reached the main road, things were unremarkable—the path was flat, and the surroundings were filled with woods and greenery.

[Game Assistant, is it safe from here on out?] Liang Yi asked.

[Yes. After all, it's only the first day of the game. If it were too difficult and too many players were lost, how would the rest of the game proceed?]

With the Game Assistant's confirmation, Liang Yi felt relieved. She opened the game interface while driving. The first thing that caught her eye was the [Channel] section, where messages were pouring in endlessly.

[Player 12368: Brothers, you guys go ahead. I’m planning to stay here.]

[Player 125: Hehe, look at how many supplies I looted today. Finally, I don't have to go hungry! [Image.jpg]]

[Player 2563: I figured it out, the chests everyone sees are different.]

[Player 24589: What town? What supplies? Why is there nothing but a desert where I am?]