Slacking off in the Game of Survival

Chapter 8 Arctic World(8)

The Role of the “Item Merchant” is not unique to the “Ten-Day Plan”.
Almost every online game has such an NPC to be profitable.

However, in many games, when you mention an Item Merchant, they are always dressed and look luxurious.

However, the man in front is somewhat different from the usual concept of a merchant.

He has a tall figure and a handsome appearance. His long hair is tied in a ponytail behind him, and he is wearing a valuable-looking cloak on his shoulders. His entire demeanor makes it difficult to ignore him.

Qian Yue had just finished trading with Yu Chengyi, which took up a lot of time. By now, most of the players in front of the Item Merchant had already left.

Even he himself was now tidying up the Item trunk beside him as if he was preparing to leave.

Qian Yue quickly walked up to him.

“Um…”

The Item Merchant did not even lift his head. “The shelves are empty today. Please come back tomorrow.”

His voice sounded strangely pleasant.

But that was not Qian Yue’s focus. She forced a lackey smile and said, “Then, when will you come tomorrow, sir?”

The Item Merchant remained silent.

The unique feature about the Item Merchant is that nobody knows where he will appear the next second. What’s the point if someone knows his whereabouts and waits for him in advance?

“I cannot tell you that.”

After saying that, he picked up his trunk and turned to leave, his long hair flicking through the air.

“Hey!”

Qian Yue instinctively reached out to grab his clothes—
The black cloak unfolded in the air with a swish, and Qian Yue instinctively held on tightly!

The next moment, the silhouette of the Item Merchant disappeared into thin air, and at the same time, Qian Yue’s backpack suddenly became heavier.

“…”

Qian Yue suddenly had a foreboding feeling.

She hesitated for a moment and carefully opened her backpack, only to find a familiar black cloak inside.

【Item Merchant Qi Feng’s Cloak】

Description: A cloak obtained by the player Qian Yue from the Item Merchant Qi Feng through illegal means.

Made from special materials, it provides warmth and protection
against wind. It is impervious to blades and spears.

“Illegal means…”

Qian Yue’s heart sank. If nothing unexpected happened, it should be the “stealing” skill taking effect.

“…”

Goodness gracious, she stripped the NPC of his clothes!!!

Half an hour later.

On the forum for the “Ten-Day Plan.”

Although players cannot exit the game midway or log in to the forum, many players come to complain after being eliminated in various ways.

#Lost mobility due to lack of stamina, I was buried alive in the snow!#

#A lifetime of fame destroyed by food poisoning!#

…

#Let’s talk about the person who went crazy after losing all their mental strength—yes, it’s me!#

…

Because most of the eliminated players are active users on the forum, the homepage is usually filled with detailed explanations of various creative ways to die. However, a few moments later, a few unconventional posts suddenly appeared on the homepage.

#LOL, NPC’s clothing got stolen#

#An NPC closed shop to find clothing, suspected of going mad#

#Shocking! Such a great figure was hidden under the cloak of some NPCs!#

The person involved speaks out—

“It’s unbelievable! We were in the middle of a trade, and the NPC suddenly turned black-faced and closed shop! Ahhh, it’s just a piece of clothing! Can’t I give you mine to wear? If you have the guts, keep the shop open!”

“Hahaha, I know who you’re talking about!”

“Hahaha, I instantly deciphered it!”

“Are you the one who stripped off his clothes on the spot? OP, I remember you! I also died and came out!”

…

“What do you guys know about it? What’s the deal with this post?”

“You guys were eliminated a few days ago, right? The Item Merchant always wears a cloak, but today he only wore a shirt.”

“He stood in the cold wind for half a day, and only realized his cloak had been stolen after someone reminded him. He got so angry that he closed shop without saying a word.”

“Isn’t he cold?”

“Special NPC parameters make him invincible, so I guess he doesn’t feel cold.”

“Hahaha, when he appeared today in just a shirt, I was initially puzzled. I thought the system gave him a new look / crying with laughter.”

“Oh no, just mentioning this makes me angry. Because the trade was interrupted, I didn’t have time to restock, and ended up starving to death / damn it.”

…

At first, the tone of the discussion was somewhat normal, with many people complaining of the shop closure directly or indirectly leading to their elimination.

But as it went on, the tone gradually changed.

“The game developers put in so much effort. They even made the clothes beneath the cloak / disappointed / disappointed.”

[T/N: This disappointed represents an emoji]

“The modeling is really top-notch. Not only are the facial features attractive, but the figure is also impressive.”

“This damn game has no heart, but damn it, the Treasure Merchant has an amazing figure/ thumbs up / thumbs up.”

“I’ve never seen an NPC this good-looking, but it’s a pity he’s just a flat character.”

“If other games’ traveling merchants were also designed like this, I’d spend money every day buying stuff! Damn!”

“Enough talk. Not a single one of you took a screenshot before dying?”

“Talking nonsense without pictures. Show us the evidence (with a lewd smile).”

“You must not have played the game, huh? This game doesn’t allow screenshots. But there might be official promotional images on their website.”

“Merchandise! I plead for body pillows to be coming soon!”

“@Ten-Day Plan official, come out and make money quickly! Gkdgkd!”

Official: …

The discussions on the forum became more intense, while the culprit had already returned to the lakeside wearing the cloak.

In the vast snowy wilderness, Qian Yue wrapped herself in the large cloak and sincerely exclaimed, “So warm.”

Although she felt a little sorry for the NPC guy, since he is a system merchant and doesn’t need to experience survival like the players, losing or gaining a piece of clothing shouldn’t be a big deal…

…Right?

Well, in the worst case, I’ll return it to him next time we meet. Until then, I won’t wear anything else.

“With this, I don’t have to worry about keeping warm in the short term.”

“But it’s still better to store as much food as possible. Now that I have an ice pick, I can make a fishing net with a rope and catch fish.”

Qian Yue’s calculations flew by like a storm as if survival was an exceptionally simple matter. If others were to hear it, they might start questioning life.

She was about to borrow a shovel from the old man she had encountered before, but when she looked up, she saw several players surrounding him!

“Get lost, you old fart!”

“My fish!”

Plastic buckets filled with fish were being tugged back and forth among the group of people. Occasionally, fish would fall out of the buckets during the process, and the people around would quickly pick up their belongings and run.

By the time Qian Yue caught up, the old man let out a cry as someone kicked him out!

Underneath his feet was an icy surface formed by the lake water. If he were to fall through, he would probably end up in an ice hole!

Without thinking, Qian Yue reached out her hand and grabbed him, stumbling a few steps but managing to avoid falling.

She asked sternly, “What’s going on?”

The old man gasped for breath in anger, “These people… stole my fish!”

One player with a small beard said, “Sir, it’s not that simple.
There are no names written on these fish, so who knows whose they are—”

Someone even shouted at Qian Yue, “I’ve seen you before, the one who helped him dig the ice hole. Do you want to join us?”

The old man instantly widened his eyes and turned angrily to look at Qian Yue.

Qian Yue, “???”

After all that, she was such an untrustworthy person in his eyes?

Qian Yue sighed and said to the players, “I borrowed something from this old man and owe him a favor.”

Players, “So?”

Qian Yue had an expressionless face. “So, you’re already surrounded by me.”

“Drop the stuff, and I won’t pursue what you put into your backpacks.”

“Huh?!”

The player with the beard thought his ears were playing tricks on him. The group of players looked at each other and burst into laughter!

“Did you hear what she said? We’re surrounded by her alone—holy!”

Before he could finish his sentence, a dark shadow suddenly struck, followed by a loud crack from the ice beneath their feet!

The player with the beard hadn’t even reacted yet when an unknown metal rod plunged into the lake ice beneath his feet. He lowered his head in fear and saw the plastic handle of the weapon still trembling!

“Crack, crack—”

The ice continued to crack, and the spiderweb-like fissures made one’s heart skip a beat.

Qian Yue, “Countdown, three.”

“Do you ducking dare to make a move?”

“Two.”

A trace of hostility flashed in the player’s eyes, and he immediately became angry. “Attack!”

At his command, the other players behind him immediately rolled up their sleeves and swarmed in!

The old man was scared and his legs went weak, but Qian Yue remained completely calm, even yawning.

“Old man, step back.”

Qian Yue pushed him to the side, and almost at the same time, a gust of wind swept past her ears!

“Whoosh!”

Without even turning her head, Qian Yue dodged to the side, but she didn’t retaliate.

The player who threw the punch thought she was afraid and immediately laughed, shouting, “Why are you dodging? If you’re incapable, just wait to be beaten!”

Qian Yue glanced at them and slowly uttered a word,

“One.”

The moment she finished speaking, Qian Yue suddenly made her move!

“Ah!” Before the others could understand what was happening, they suddenly felt pain in different parts of their bodies and were knocked down one after another!

Qian Yue didn’t even look at them. She reached out to retrieve the ice pick she had thrown earlier. Just then, someone from behind leaped up from the ground, attempting to attack her!

“Damn you!”

With a “crack,” the ice pick was pulled out, and the entire ice surface cracked even more!

Seeing the person behind her getting closer, Qian Yue’s dagger flashed through the air, and she swung the ice pick like a club. The next second, the person was struck by the ice pick!

“Ah!”

“Bang!”

The person felt a pain in his waist, and then he heavily crashed onto the ice surface, coincidentally landing where a gap had been chiseled by the ice pick earlier!

“Splash!”

The ice surface shattered, creating a large pit, and he fell straight into the lake!

Qian Yue whistled, “Nice move, well done.”

Just as she finished speaking, someone rushed at her from behind.
Qian Yue swung the ice pick, repeating the process.

Soon, the water was filled with one fallen player after another.

Qian Yue squatted by the shore and spoke to them, expressionless.

“One, two, three, four, five… I must say, you guys are not good.
Literally feeding by giving away your positions so obviously, even the referee would feel embarrassed blowing a foul whistle.”

The players who were accused of giving away their lives were struggling in the icy water and had no time to respond to Qian Yue’s words.

Finally, when someone was about to reach the shore, Qian Yue used the plastic handle of the ice pick to push him away, successfully earning a resentful glare.

Qian Yue sighed, “… What kind of expression is that? I didn’t use the sharp edge to hit you; that was already showing mercy.”

The sharp edge of the ice pick was indeed sharp, but Qian Yue had intentionally used the plastic handle when hitting them.

If she had truly intended to go all out, the ice hole would have been filled with blood by now.

The player with the beard gritted his teeth and asked,

“What…gulp…do you want to do?”

Qian Yue tilted her head. “It’s simple.”

“Understand the meaning of fists of love? Today, I’ve taught you all a lesson.”

Qian Yue yawned again; these people were really weak, causing her to feel sleepy.

She casually said, “Sincerely apologize to the old man, and each of you gives me five items as tuition fees. That will settle the matter today.”

The old man on the side, “… I feel like I’m being used.”

The people in the lake, “…”

Well, they ought to continue soaking in the lake.