Slacking off in the Game of Survival

Chapter 21 Dark Rock Incident(9)

【Special Mode Activated】

【Due to global coverage of volcanic ash, the world has entered perpetual night mode】

【In this mode, day and night are indistinguishable. Players, please beware】

Abruptly awakened by a system prompt, Qian Yue felt a sudden weight in her backpack. It seemed that a new day’s spawn had been distributed, but all she could see was pitch blackness.

The fire in the room had gone out at some point, but the temperature inside was rising instead of dropping.

It was hot.

Like being in a steamer.

Qian Yue glanced at the time—

Day 5, 00:05:03

There was an additional suffix indicating “perpetual night.”

Qian Yue hastily threw off her cloak, lit an oil lamp, and walked to the door. She glanced outside to see a dark and gloomy twilight, pitch black except for a faint red glow on the horizon—the ongoing eruption of the dark-colored rock volcano.

Volcanic ash continued to fall from the sky, and the smell of sulfur in the air grew increasingly strong. Caught off guard, Qian Yue accidentally inhaled a few breaths, and her nasal passages felt like they were being burned by fire. Startled, she quickly let go of the vine acting as a makeshift door curtain and retreated back into the house.

*Cough, cough…*

It was only now that Qian Yue noticed that the mask she wore before going to sleep had disappeared automatically after its durability ran out. Now she only had a piece of cloth tied around her face, which was practically useless.

*Cough, cough, cough…*

Qian Yue quickly replaced it with a new mask and waited for a couple of seconds to catch her breath. Then she hurriedly opened her character’s attributes.

“Damn.”

Qian Yue had maximized her stats before going to sleep last night, but to her surprise, she found that all the values had turned orange.

It was probably because of the two breaths of ash she accidentally inhaled. Her health visibly decreased.

The rate of consumption was much faster than in the previous instance!

Name: Qian Yue

Occupation: Beggar

Level: 2

Health: 35/115 【Respiratory Infection】

Stamina: 50/110【Hunger】

Mental Power: 45/105【Depressed】

【Depressed】: Increases the chance of encountering wandering monsters by 5%.

She couldn’t help but mutter, “This volcanic ash is too powerful…”

While replenishing her health and stamina, Qian Yue hesitated for a moment when it came to her mental power.

Although she couldn’t make a deal with Yu Chengyi in the end, she still had enough mental suppressants in her backpack.

If it were in the past, Qian Yue would have replenished her mental power without hesitation to prevent a situation of going berserk due to low mental power.

But seeing the description of 【Depressed】, she involuntarily stopped and pondered.

“Does it mean they actively appear if the chance of encountering wandering monsters increases by 5%?”

Although Qian Yue really wanted to make an anti-toxic mask, going out in this weather would be equivalent to suicide.

At present, she had enough supplies in her inventory to last through this instance, so there was no need to venture out for a few extra items.

But if the monsters could come to her door voluntarily, it would be even better.

“In any case, there are still 45 points left, which isn’t too dangerous. Let’s try a desperate measure and see how it goes.”

Thinking about it, Qian Yue immediately dismissed the idea of using a mental suppressant. She carried an oil lamp and sat cross-legged at the door, quietly waiting for her fish to take the bait.

The wind outside the house blew fiercely, causing the withered trees to sway unpredictably, resembling ghosts in the dark night and creating a somewhat eerie atmosphere.

However, Qian Yue had long been accustomed to this kind of life, so she didn’t think there was anything wrong at the moment.
When she used to explore outside, Qian Yue had also been to dangerous places. Over time, her mental strength grew stronger, and getting injured became a common occurrence.

In the game, injuries were mainly reflected in decreased numerical values, and at most, one could feel slight pain after the values were lowered. But in reality, bleeding meant real blood was shed.

The reason Qian Yue was able to take such a long break this time was also related to her physical condition.

Although her family respected her choices, they were also very worried. Her parents had mentioned more than once that they wanted her to focus on her studies, work in the company, or become a professor at a university.

They even went so far as to arrange a blind date for her, which was quite unusual.

Though Qian Yue used the excuse of going to explore other planets to avoid attending the dinner.

Now thinking about it, because she had been too resistant at the time, all she remembered was that the other person seemed to have served in the military, but she hadn’t met them in person. She had not even seen a photo, let alone have any impression. She had completely forgotten their name.

Thinking of this, scenes from yesterday’s lesson with Du Yuanlang involuntarily appeared in her mind.

Although Du Yuanlang was a mischievous kid who deserved to be scolded, his brother, who seemed to have served in the military, was a person with a relatively high moral sense.

If it were an ordinary player, they would have swarmed the house to occupy it. There were very few who would sincerely apologize as he did.

“It’s a bit unfortunate. I’m surrounded by two troublemakers, and life will definitely not be easy in the future.”

Qian Yue had never been receptive to girls like Yu Lu who spoke in riddles.

When she thought about Yu Lu targeting Du Yue, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

As for herself…

Compared to love, Qian Yue was more interested in the situation downhill.

The place Qian Yue chose had good terrain, backed against a cliff. It had natural cover and allowed her to see half of the situation downhill.

In the darkness, the torchlight was very noticeable. In just a short while, Qian Yue saw the flickering lights several times.

It was obvious that players were making fires.

Qian Yue couldn’t help shaking her head, almost foreseeing their predicament in the next few days.

Sitting on a small hill with only an oil lamp, she muttered to herself, “Now is not the time to make fires.”

As mentioned earlier, after the eternal night fell, the temperature would undergo drastic changes.

The volcanic ash outside was continuously falling, and now was the time for the temperature to rise.

But after the temperature rise, an ice age would quickly follow, freezing the entire world. It would be difficult to collect dry firewood then.

“You can’t relax for a moment.”

Sighing, Qian Yue placed her backpack behind her and comfortably lay
down.

Day six, it started raining outside the house.

After experiencing the scorching heat of the previous day, the plants withered, and the rivers dried up. Many animals were eagerly anticipating a refreshing rainfall.

At the moment when the sky began to drizzle, countless creatures gradually emerged, hoping to welcome the baptism after the disaster.

Little did they know that this rain was not a blessing from above but an invitation from the Grim Reaper.

The rain fell steadily, converging into small streams and joining the rushing rivers, causing vegetation to decay and mountains to collapse wherever it passed.

Acid rain caused the roots of plants to rot, and the acidified soil would remain barren for years to come. At the same time, animals suffered dual torment on their skin and stomachs.

In a certain location on the map…

“Run quickly!”

“They’re catching up!”

Four or five players ran desperately ahead, while a nearly three-meter-tall dinosaur chased after them.

“Split up! Split up!”

The person in the lead shouted, and the other teammates quickly scattered.

However, to their surprise, the dinosaur didn’t get distracted. On the contrary, it accelerated and ran toward them even faster!

As the distance between the two sides grew smaller, he could even smell the stench of saliva in the air!

But at the critical moment, the dinosaur suddenly raised its head and roared. Then, with a loud thud, it collapsed to the ground.

The player being chased was bewildered. “What happened?”

“What’s going on? What did you do?”

The teammates were equally puzzled, thinking that he had done something to distract the dinosaur. Seeing his genuinely frightened appearance, it didn’t seem like an act.

“I… I don’t know. It just suddenly fell down…”

There was a moment of silence, and the struggle of the dinosaur intensified. Finally, someone figured it out.

“I know what happened! It’s volcanic ash! Dinosaurs don’t have nostril hair, so they sucked it all in!”

The players wore masks, filtering the dust in the air to some extent.

However, the dinosaur had breathed in all that material, and as it struggled, its breathing became increasingly labored. In its final moments before death, flames accompanied its exhales.

And this scene was not a coincidence.

The pterosaurs flying in the sky had countless holes corroded in their membranous wings. They had to make emergency landings but couldn’t find a place to rest despite circling for a long time.

Dead bodies floated on the rivers, emitting a foul stench. Various marine dragons submerged in the water due to lack of oxygen, desperately seeking a breath of air on land.

Yet, they never expected that even the large predators that once roamed the land would be mercilessly buried under the thick volcanic ash.

The cries and mournful wails of various creatures intertwined, like the final elegy of the end of the century.

As living beings suffered, and the earth trembled, the intense precipitation triggered mudslides, and the changing landscape provided an opportunity for the magma.

The entire world was undergoing an unprecedented trial, and only the volcanic eruption showed no sign of extinguishing in this rainfall.

The scorched black land continued to expand, and the fiery magma, under the effect of acid rain, turned into an eerie bluish-purple color.

From a bird’s-eye view, the bluish-purple magma spread outward along the mantle plumes. The entire volcano resembled an evil flower blooming on the surface of the planet— like a festering sore.