Slacking off in the Game of Survival

Chapter 49 Above the Wasteland(9)

Day 2, 01:32:12

The second round of bombings suddenly struck.

The air raid sirens blared, and the entire instance began to panic.

The system’s voice sounded again: “The second random bombing will begin in one minute. All players, please find cover and prepare for the incoming battle.”

“Repeating, one minute later…”

The system repeated this three times, but toward the end, it became almost inaudible.

The buzzing sound of the bomber’s engines drowned out everything.

Both the natives and players started panicking at the same moment, fleeing in all directions.

There were even people who were previously focused on securing certain resources. Suddenly, they stopped in unison and scattered in different directions. In an instant, the sound of footsteps rapidly receded.

……

Qian Yue had been holed up in the cat ear hole for the entire morning. She finally planned to go out for some fresh air after the group of players above had left. However, she was startled by the sound of the air raid sirens and quickly withdrew her hand.

“Why does it have to be now…”

Qian Yue was somewhat annoyed, but she swiftly removed unnecessary items from the hole’s entrance, leaving only a piece of iron plate to shield herself from the artillery fire.

At this moment, the people outside were probably busy fleeing in all directions, so no one had the time to notice whether there was an extra hole or a missing one in a certain ruin.

Thus, she didn’t need to seal herself in as tightly as before. If the situation wasn’t right, she could immediately lift the iron plate and escape.

As for the items she removed, she placed them back into the original vent, sealing it securely to prevent collapse after the explosion.

Soon, one minute passed.

“Boom—”

The shells descended suddenly, and the entire ground trembled.

Dust began to fall inside the cave. Qian Yue propped up the anti-theft door above her head with one hand and used a chair leg to support the iron plate at the entrance, afraid that they might suddenly fall.

“Boom!”

Another loud explosion followed. It seemed the explosion was not far away, much louder than the previous one.

Shortly after, a loud “clang” sounded above Qian Yue’s head. She didn’t know what kind of flying debris had hit the iron plate at the entrance. The chair leg in her hand was knocked away, startling her.

……

A few moments later, muffled sounds came from above her head. Qian Yue thought it might be debris falling from the ruins but didn’t pay much attention. She had multiple layers of anti-theft doors, so she felt safe.

When she dug the hole, she had considered the ruin’s stability with soil and stones, so she had collected several anti-theft doors to create a makeshift ceiling.

She placed one side of the anti-theft door on the ground and used various items to prop up the other side, forming a triangular space.

This space was her current hiding spot. It wasn’t large, but it was stable enough.

Unless a stone directly smashed through the anti-theft door or the shockwave lifted the entire ruin, the bombing wouldn’t harm her at all—

Bam!

A sudden muffled sound came from above.

Qian Yue: ?

For an instant, she was confused. She reflexively looked up at the ceiling— alright, the anti-theft door was intact.

So where did that sound come from?

The next second, the iron plate placed at the entrance of her hole was suddenly lifted, followed by a dark figure that seemed ready to jump down—

“Thud.”

Qian Yue kicked him back with a swift motion.

At this time, someone is still wandering outside?

After all the effort she put into making this cat ear hole and indulging herself for a good while, Qian Yue didn’t want anyone to disrupt her. So, without much thought, she grabbed nearby objects and quickly stuffed them into the entrance to block it.

However, just at that moment, a dark gun barrel extended from the outside.

A tired male voice sounded, “Let me in.”

Qian Yue’s movements paused, and she squinted her eyes.

*

Yuan Dongqi had been having a bit of bad luck lately.

When the game “Ten-Day Plan” was first released, he and Qian Chi were the only ones among their group who got chosen for the closed beta, so naturally, they planned to play together.

However, recently, Qian Chi seemed to be busy with something, and he
couldn’t even get in touch with him.

After a few times, the others started to think that Qian Chi was upset with him for using inappropriate words about her sister during their last gathering and had offended him.

Yuan Dongqi: …

As if he should bear all the blame for that. He was stewing with frustration, but he held back due to not wanting to worsen the situation.

Before the start of this instance, he had initially wanted to team up with Qian Chi. However, when he contacted him, he said he already had a team.

Qian Chi asked naively, “Oh, you don’t have a team yet? How about teaming up with me?”

Yuan Dongqi, “…Never mind.”

Yuan Dongqi suddenly felt unhappy. Coincidentally, Du Yuanlang, whom he had played with in the previous instance, extended an invitation to him. He thought that while Du Yuanlang might be a bit quirky, with Du Yue around, it should be fine. So, he agreed.

However, he never anticipated that once they entered the instance, he wouldn’t even see those people’s faces.

In a war-based instance, solo play was extremely challenging, especially with the added disruption from the natives. Players who sought security started teaming up spontaneously.

Left with no choice, Yuan Dongqi joined a random team.

Including himself, the team consisted of two medics and one scholar.

The setup wasn’t too bad.

He thought maybe they could make it to the end of the instance.

But he never imagined that after just one peaceful evening together, he would be betrayed.

As it turned out, the scholar intended to gather materials through him and the other medic. Once they crafted the gun, he planned to seize their supplies.

What was even worse was that the other medic wasn’t an entirely noble person either.

—In fact, he wasn’t even a medic; he was a beggar disguised as one.

He infiltrated the team solely to steal the gun.

So, after whatever was done, these two people with very different intentions suddenly turned against each other.

Amidst the chaos, Yuan Dongqi snatched the gun and, in the process, incited both individuals to chase after him. However, before he could get far, he stumbled upon an air raid—

“Quick, move your stuff away, or I’ll start shooting.” Yuan Dongqi panted heavily, his tone unfriendly.

In reality, he was only trying to scare them with his words. Inside, he was feeling extremely anxious. Even the hand holding the gun was trembling.

—Yuan Dongqi was too afraid to fire the gun at this moment.

Taking advantage of the cover provided by the bombing, he managed to escape from the two pursuers. However, now that the smoke had dissipated, it wouldn’t be long before they caught up.

Gunfire would expose his location. By that time, even if he managed to secure this hiding spot from the people in the hole, it wouldn’t be meaningful.

But regardless, he had to appear confident.

Yuan Dongqi, “Hurry up! Or I’ll really start shooting!”

Perhaps his threat worked, as the person inside the hole no longer resisted. They reluctantly moved aside the items, seeming somewhat wary of his gun.

Yuan Dongqi felt a twinge of relief.

The interior of the hole was too dim to see clearly, and he couldn’t make out who was inside or what it looked like.

But at this moment, Yuan Dongqi didn’t have time to worry about that. Out of caution, he kept the gun in his hand.

As he jumped into the hole, he commanded, “Quick, fill up the hole—”

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly yelled, “Ah!” A surge of electricity rapidly surged through his body, causing him to shudder all over. Immediately, his vision turned black, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

This was the sound of Yuan Dongqi falling to the ground.

Qian Yue glanced at the person on the ground and scoffed, “Saved me the trouble of using my professional skills.”

As she spoke, she very calmly pocketed her anti-big bad wolf flashlight and took the gun from Yuan Dongqi’s hand.

With a flick of her wrist, a nylon rope appeared in her hand, and she skillfully bound Yuan Dongqi.

Not that she wanted to brag, but the fact is, the last person who dared to point a gun at her was still sitting in prison right now.

*

A few minutes later, the bombing ended.

Feeling that the dust outside should have settled, Qian Yue crawled out and took a look.

The outermost layer of rubble that had covered the entrance was shaken off at some point, revealing the anti-theft door beneath.

Coupled with the partly uncovered hole, it was clear that something was amiss at a glance.

Qian Yue clicked her tongue in disapproval, “The structural constructibility of this wasteland is just too poor. It crumbles with just a little shake. No wonder he found it.”

Taking advantage of the recent end of the bombing and the still relatively low number of people outside, Qian Yue quickly dragged some debris from the nearby rubble to cover the anti-theft door again.

She also cleared out the items from the vent, leaving only a plastic bottle used to support the hole.

After completing all this, instead of immediately crawling back into her hole, Qian Yue cautiously sealed the entrance.

After confirming that the cat ear hole wouldn’t be discovered and that Yuan Dongqi wouldn’t suffocate, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed briskly towards the nearest explosion site.

Based on her observation yesterday, there was more metal debris at the explosion sites, and the drop rate of item fragments was slightly higher than other places.

Anyway, she had some free time, so Qian Yue intended to pick up some items now. If she couldn’t hold on later, she could always sell them for supplies.

As she walked, she murmured to herself—

“Thank goodness, I can finally catch a breather outside.”

……

The nearest explosion site was about a hundred meters away from Qian Yue. She was solely focused on getting there and getting back quickly, so she hurried along.

However, whether due to her unlucky streak or other reasons, she had barely taken a few steps when she encountered two individuals radiating hostility.

“Hey you, stop right there.”

Qian Yue paid no attention and kept walking, pretending she hadn’t heard anything.

But to her surprise, the two individuals actually caught up to her.

One of them stepped forward and blocked her path, with an unfriendly tone, “I’m talking to you, why are you running? Did the bombing make you deaf?”

“…”

Qian Yue halted her steps, gave him a cold glance, and pressed her lips together without saying a word.

Those familiar with her knew that when she made this gesture, it meant she was starting to get irritated.

However, the players across from her clearly couldn’t read her expression. They thought she was startled by being suddenly addressed and were momentarily taken aback.

A sense of condescension welled up in the male player’s heart. He crossed his arms with an air of superiority, “I’m asking you a question—”

“What, what! I haven’t reached my destination yet!”

Just then, another person arrived, hurrying over and abruptly interrupting their conversation.

As if afraid someone might steal a march on him, he jogged up and pulled Qian Yue away from the other guy. Then, in a rush, he said,
“Um, could you help me, friend? Have you seen someone—”

When he caught sight of Qian Yue’s face head-on, his words faltered.

His tone suddenly shot up, “Why is it you?!