Too Luxurious

“The bento boxes I prepared for you are all here.”

Qi Wanyi pulled open the zipper, revealing five disposable lunch boxes inside. The boxes were all tightly sealed, yet the aroma still wafted out.

Ginger Candy was already a bit hungry, and after smelling the food, she became even more tempted. She looked on with eager eyes and asked, “Can we eat now?”

Cheng Shuili looked at Ginger Candy’s expectant expression—as if the narrow escape from death just moments ago wasn't as important as the meal in front of her—and felt a mix of amusement and frustration.

The lingering sentiment of surviving a disaster was instantly washed away by this stark contrast.

She retorted with a huff, raising her hand to lightly tap Ginger Candy’s forehead: “Eat, eat, eat, all you think about is eating. You’ve barely saved your own skin and you’re already obsessed with food; your heart really is something else.”

Despite saying that, she still turned to nod at Qi Wanyi: “Take them out. Everyone must be exhausted and hungry. Let’s start eating first. What follows won’t be easy, and shelters will definitely become increasingly scarce. We need to find the next shelter before the peak of the next acid rain.”

Qi Wanyi smiled and distributed the lunch boxes to everyone one by one.

In the cramped space of the shelter, under the halo of the flashlight, the aroma of the food seemed to disperse much of the chill and oppression.

Ginger Candy took her portion and impatiently opened the lid.

Inside were carefully portioned dishes that looked incredibly appetizing. The rice seemed cold, but the vegetables still had a hint of steam rising from them.

She immediately picked up the included spoon and took a big, satisfying bite, mumbling indistinctly: “Mmm… delicious! Sister Wanyi, you’re amazing!”

The others also opened their lunch boxes one after another. For a moment, the only sounds in the quiet shelter were the soft noises of chewing and the muffled, distant sound of the rain outside.

Only Master of Slacking sat awkwardly in the corner, pulling a pack of compressed biscuits from his backpack and chewing them dry with a bottle of mineral water.

It wasn't that the food he brought was miserable; it was just that this group was eating way too well! It was simply too luxurious!

Who else enters a dungeon and doesn't just eat compressed biscuits with mineral water? A meal is a meal, right? As long as it’s better than starving, it’s fine.

Master of Slacking tried to comfort himself while gnawing on his compressed biscuits.

By comparison, he looked truly pathetic, but unfortunately, Cheng Shuili and the others were not the type to be overflowing with sympathy. Besides, the food Qi Wanyi prepared was so fragrant that they truly couldn't spare the attention to care about anyone else.

The warmth of the food dispelled the chill and some of the fatigue from their bodies, but the oppressive feeling brought by the cramped space of the shelter did not completely vanish. The deafening sound of the rain outside gradually weakened, shifting from a violent downpour to a light, pattering drip.

After the meal, the peak of the acid rain had passed.

“We can go out now.”

Ailin listened for a moment and made her judgment.

Cheng Shuili nodded: “We can start looking for the next shelter ahead of time, and also…”

Cheng Shuili’s gaze fell on the center of the map, where the ruins of the mysterious research institute lay at the heart of the industrial zone. The system called this an optional task, but it was clear that the rewards granted after exploration would definitely be greater.

Qi Wanyi seemed to sense her hesitation, pointing to the location of the ruins: “We can go, but only after we’ve found a shelter.”

This thought perfectly aligned with Cheng Shuili’s own.

But finding a shelter was no easy task. The more peaks of acid rain there were, the fewer usable shelters remained. Furthermore… there wasn't just one team left in the dungeon now; there was Qian Xun’s team, and the team that had engaged in the warehouse shootout. Although they had suffered heavy casualties, there were still survivors.

By this count, every time a peak occurred, they and the other survivors would use up three shelters.

Cheng Shuili suddenly realized something and frowned as she counted the shelter markers on the map. There were ten in total.

Cheng Shuili now knew that there were four teams in this dungeon.

Assuming all four teams found a shelter during the first peak, then after that first peak, only six shelters would have remained.

And now, during the second peak, another three were used… leaving only three shelters remaining.

Cheng Shuili realized the problem without even needing to calculate. If they continued like this, with each team using one shelter, the number of shelters would definitely not be enough.

Cheng Shuili opened the map provided by the system to take a look.

The map was completely pitch black, with only two small light dots indicating the location of the coating. One was their position, and the other was Qian Xun’s.

There were only two peaks left now. As long as they could rendezvous with Qian Xun and the others during the next peak and use the same shelter, even if the team that suffered heavy casualties used a shelter on their own, there would still be one shelter left for the final peak.

This wasn't just their only path to survival; it was the only path for everyone in this dungeon!

Therefore, the most important thing now was to find Qian Xun and the others.

With the map, this task was relatively simple.

Cheng Shuili voiced her thoughts, both as an announcement and to ask for the opinions of the others.

There were no objections, but Ginger Candy had a question: “If we aren't the same team, can we use the same shelter?”

That question was…

Cheng Shuili was speechless. Master of Slacking was standing right there; the answer to the question was all too obvious.

Xinxue let out a sudden laugh, nudging Ginger Candy with her elbow and pointing at Master of Slacking: “Tangtang, are you confused again? He isn't part of our team, after all.”

Ginger Candy paused, finally realizing it. She blinked and picked up the last piece of meat from her lunch box, placing it into Xinxue’s bowl: “Got it, got it. Eat more and shut your mouth.”

She was embarrassed and annoyed.

Cheng Shuili shook her head; she was already used to the way these two interacted.

After the group finished resting, they followed the map to search for Qian Xun. They found two shelters on the way, but unfortunately, both had already been used.

Cheng Shuili marked the locations of the used shelters on the map and continued to advance toward Qian Xun’s location.

It was worth noting that the other party also seemed to be moving in their direction.

“They are coming toward us too,” Cheng Shuili said to the others, pointing at the trajectory of the light dot on the map. “It seems we thought of the same thing. This is good; it will save us a lot of time on the rendezvous.”

Qi Wanyi was thoughtful: “I just wonder if there are really only four teams in the dungeon.”

Indeed…

But aimless speculation was useless and only wasted energy. It was better to act according to the plan first.

As Cheng Shuili walked, her mind kept turning.

Their team had received information that the first peak was in one hour, while Fengyun Tianxia’s team had received information that the interval between peaks was two hours, and that they had to hide in a shelter during the peak.