Leisure

Su Rui spoke quieter and quieter as she went on, eventually muttering almost to herself, "No wonder you could just casually pull out eight hundred coins..."

The vehicle finally returned to a steady pace, but Su Rui’s breathing was still uneven.

Cheng Shuili noticed her back was as straight as a board; she was clearly still nervous.

What on earth was she nervous about?

"Relax," Cheng Shuili couldn't help but chuckle. "I’m not going to eat you."

"I’ll try..." Su Rui took a deep breath, only to choke on her own saliva and burst into a fit of coughing.

Cheng Shuili handed her a bottle of water.

Su Rui’s fingers trembled as she took it, and she had to twist the cap three times before it finally opened.

She took a large gulp, but the water spilled from the corners of her mouth, trickling down her chin and onto her clothes, making her look utterly disheveled.

"So..." Su Rui wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve, her voice so soft it was barely audible. "Why did you buy me? I can’t really help you with anything..."

Cheng Shuili looked out at the wasteland flashing past the window and said indifferently, "I told you, I’m returning a favor."

Silence filled the car, with only the rumble of the engine echoing.

After a long while, Su Rui spoke again, her voice much firmer this time: "I will prove that I am worth those eight hundred coins."

Helping drive for a few days would be worth it.

Helping fight monsters would be even better.

And if she could tag along into dungeons, that would be just perfect!

Cheng Shuili stood by the door of the driver’s cab to keep Su Rui company for a bit longer before returning to the cabin to check the totem she had bought at the black market.

【Guardian Totem】

【Description: Generates a one-time shield for your vehicle that lasts for fifteen minutes! While the shield is active, no attack can damage your vehicle! This totem disappears after one use.】

A one-time shield?

Cheng Shuili couldn't immediately think of a specific use for this item, but she knew that spending thirty game coins on a totem was a fantastic deal.

Cheng Shuili glanced into the driver’s cab. Su Rui was sitting straight, eyes fixed on the road ahead, and the shopping cart was moving steadily.

She couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips; she was truly hands-free now.

Their first night went quite pleasantly.

Su Rui made a bed for herself on the floor.

Cheng Shuili, worried it would be too hard, laid out several layers of blankets for her, which moved Su Rui to tears once again.

Cheng Shuili was already used to seeing her like this.

In the evening, Xinxue suddenly sent Cheng Shuili a message.

【Xinxue Chuji】: Boss, the supply of that Barbecue Brother Zhou, whom you and Sister Ailin killed this morning, was automatically distributed to me by the system. It only appeared in my supply crate. I only noticed it when I was counting my items just now. I think I only got 25% of it. Here are his supplies.

"You have received a gift from player Xinxue Chuji..."

It was all materials, food, and 724 game coins, along with a heap of other random junk.

If Xinxue hadn't clarified the source, Cheng Shuili would have thought she was dumping trash.

Xinxue’s intentions were good, but sometimes, she really didn't need to go through the trouble.

As for why the supplies were distributed to Xinxue by the system, Cheng Shuili guessed it was because Barbecue Brother Zhou had used a designated player duel card on Xinxue. Since Zhou died, Xinxue was judged the winner, so the loot naturally belonged to her.

Cheng Shuili kept the game coins and sent the rest back to Xinxue.

She often bought and sold goods, so it was easy for her to handle these things; left with Cheng Shuili, they would just become trash.

After dealing with all that, Cheng Shuili lay on her bed and sighed with relief. Half-asleep, she felt as though she had forgotten something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she simply let herself drift off.

The night passed normally; having an extra person around didn't change much.

Early the next morning, when Cheng Shuili opened her eyes, Su Rui had already finished washing up. She was sitting quietly on the sofa, waiting for Cheng Shuili to issue the day’s orders.

Cheng Shuili didn't rush to tell her what to do. It wasn't even eight o'clock yet, and it wasn't the time to start driving anyway.

She still remembered what the guide had said: one bottle of mineral water a day was enough to maintain vital signs.

Cheng Shuili opened the refrigerator, her fingers hesitating between a functional beverage and mineral water, before finally choosing a functional beverage.

Su Rui understood her kindness but could only shake her head and refuse. To her, this tasted no different from ordinary mineral water; drinking such a good item would be a complete waste.

Once it hit eight o'clock, Su Rui entered the driver’s cab on time and dutifully began to drive.

Cheng Shuili felt a bit unaccustomed to it.

After half a month of driving diligently, suddenly being idle felt strange. She boredly scrolled through the regional channel. Today was already the third day of the extreme heat, and finally, someone noticed something amiss.

"Has anyone managed to get water in the last two days? Any kind of water counts, even drinks. Do you have any?"

"Hiss, now that you mention it, I just realized I haven't seen water in a crate for two days! What’s going on?"

"Holy crap, now that you mention it, I really haven't!"

"Me neither. Has anyone opened any?"

"No +1"

"No +2"

...

"Something’s wrong. There’s an eighty percent chance something is very wrong!"

"Eighty percent? The situation is already crystal clear; something is definitely wrong!"

"Is this the time to argue about percentages? Shouldn't we be thinking about why there’s no water at all?"

"It makes sense, actually. Isn't this disaster extreme heat? If we treat getting water from supply crates as getting it from the wild, doesn't it make sense? It’s too hot! The water has evaporated! And because it’s too hot, clouds can’t form! Without rain, where would the water come from?"

"The person above has a very logical point!"

"Don't give me that 'logical' crap! I don't need to know why there’s no water! I need to know where I can get some!"

"Why are you panicking? Who hasn't hoarded a few bottles in their car? Surely it’ll be fine for a day or two, right?"

"You guys aren't paying attention to that person’s prediction at all! Didn't they say it clearly? It’s likely that until this extreme heat ends, we won't be able to get any water from supply crates at all!"

"We won't be able to get any water! We won't even be able to get any liquid!"

"Cough, cough. Um, is anyone selling water?"

【Xinxue Chuji】: Selling mineral water. The price is a bit higher than usual. If you’re prepared, come talk to me.

"????"

"Why is he everywhere?"

"How did he hoard more? Who exactly is giving him this intel? Can this even be true?"

"Tsk, tsk. This guy must have backing from some big shot, otherwise how would he have such accurate information?"

"Wasn't he from Partition 1000 before? The big shots in Partition 1000 we know by name are Crow, Qingshan, and Silent Fortune. There’s also Glory. That’s about it, right?"

"Glory can be ruled out. Glory would never do something like being one way to your face and another behind your back!"

"Hey, you never know, right? I think Glory is the most suspicious. The more impossible it seems, the more likely it is!"