Chapter 35-Game Descent: I Am the Sole Player
Chapter 35
Nanzhou City sat nestled between mountains and water — rich in history, culture, and tourism. From ancient times to the present it had been a land of plenty. In recent years it had attracted a massive concentration of internet companies, e-commerce firms, and MCN agencies, its streets teeming with fashionable influencers.
As for what Nanzhou City looked like after the game's descent, Bai Shan could only get a sense by browsing the Nanzhou City regional channel.
[Help! Is it snowing at Xihai Wetlands? Why is nobody taking on the quests there?]
[That is bird droppings. Run!]
[Level 8+, ages 20-30, need two more for a party to clear a mutated koi swarm. Contribution points split evenly. (No couples please)]
[The quests keep getting harder and the contribution points keep getting stingier. All I can afford to eat is plain bread. Do they even want us alive?]
[Be grateful you are in Nanzhou! Nanzhou's Phase One survival rate was as high as 15%. We have resources, we have order. Check the world channel — some places have been completely overrun by mutated creatures.]
[The southwest region and some of the highland areas back home are total disaster zones.]
[Another outsider tried to poach the ancient temple's ginkgo tree today and got killed by it. What a sin.]
[Well, who told that tree to catch ( )'s eye?]
[Everything is on real names here. Watch what you say.]
[I heard a sea monster crawled up from Qianjiang River. Is that true?]
[So what? The more monsters, the more levelling opportunities. And if regular people can't handle them, there is always Cheng Yue!]
[More and more outsiders keep flooding in. People are scarier than monsters.]
[Don't be so petty. You want to gatekeep by region? I will gatekeep by level!]
Bai Shan scrolled through the Nanzhou City channel for a while and concluded that it was essentially a supercharged, premium version of Qianxi Town — with mature systems in place for manpower allocation, supplies, housing, and accommodation of newcomers.
She recalled this was a city of over ten million. The 15% survival rate mentioned in the channel meant Nanzhou's current population was still in the millions!
Today was February 4th. In a mere eight days, Nanzhou City had managed to stabilise a population of over a million. Its clearance rate far exceeded the Phase One average. Bai Shan had to hand it to a major city's capabilities.
But that also meant, under Phase Two's rule permitting only 20% of players to advance, Nanzhou would need to reduce its population to 300,000 within a month. And that required every organised community worldwide to cooperate in controlling numbers. Every established management body was undoubtedly racking their brains right now.
Bai Shan, who held the [Rule Pen], should have been one of those fretting. Yet at this moment she was remarkably relaxed, reclining in the passenger seat and pulling out a bag of crisps.
The black RV was parked by the roadside. Lin Huijun had hopped out and was tangling with two black snakes.
The two snakes reared up, standing as tall as Lin Huijun herself. Moving like mirror images of each other — one in front, one behind — they coordinated their attacks. Lin Huijun swung her [Frozen Tilapia], but one careless moment let a snake coil around her body, and she went down.
Inside the RV, Bai Shan craned her head forward. Then, remembering Lin Huijun's ability, she let her head fall back against the headrest.
The fallen Lin Huijun did not burst into flames as Bai Shan had expected. Instead, the tilapia shot from her hand and smashed into the second snake lunging toward her. The snake already wrapped around half her body bared its slender fangs and was about to sink them into her exposed wrist —
Just before the fangs made contact, a sudden surge of heat seared through the cold blood flowing in the snake's body. Hypersensitive to temperature, the cold-blooded serpent instinctively loosened its grip.
The instant the hold slackened, Lin Huijun seized her chance. Her right hand clamped down on the snake's head, and with a burst of force she slammed its body against the asphalt!
[Congratulations, player — you have reached Level 10!]
Having dispatched the two snakes blocking the road, Lin Huijun returned to the RV. Bai Shan had already moved to the driver's seat, leaving the passenger side for her.
Lin Huijun paused. "I'm fine, I can keep driving."
"Really?" Bai Shan looked skeptical. Lin Huijun's ability came with immense pain, and every time she used it she looked drained.
"This time I was deliberately holding back. Letting the ability surge out all at once is agonising, but I can try adjusting it like controlling the heat while cooking."
Lin Huijun explained. Just now, for example, she had only released a small burst of heat to scare the snake off. The flames had not actually emerged, and the trade-off was just a mild tingle like static — no pain, no impact on her condition.
Of course she could have gone all-out the moment she stepped off the RV. Both snakes would have been incinerated on contact. But the searing pain that followed would not only be excruciating — if another enemy appeared immediately, she would struggle to fight.
"That's a smart approach."
Bai Shan praised her, then obligingly got up and returned the driver's seat to Lin Huijun.
They were still winding through mountain terrain. The roads were complex, and while Bai Shan could manage practising in a village, tackling tricky terrain was practically taunting [A Diligent Hardworking RV] and its remaining 5% HP bar.
Lin Huijun started the engine and sighed: "This whole way, besides us, I haven't seen a single person or a single vehicle."
Mountains rose all around them in dense, continuous ridges. The forests were lush and canopy-thick. Lin Huijun was not sure if she was imagining it, but the ordinary trees also seemed to have grown taller and larger than before.
Bai Shan said: "Well, this area is close to Nanzhou City. Compared to the middle of nowhere, the city is obviously safer."
Judging by the Nanzhou City channel, the city had taken in a good number of outsiders. The specifics of their treatment were unclear, but Nanzhou appeared to allocate resources based on some kind of quest contribution point system. It sounded fair enough.
The two travelled in fits and starts, stopping whenever they encountered mutated creatures. Lin Huijun handled the fighting, but levelling was not her primary aim — she was training her control over her Talent.
Bai Shan was inspired by her, and now even unwrapping a piece of candy required [Tyrannical Command] to peel off the wrapper, then [Tyrannical Command] again to toss it into her mouth — all in the name of fine-grained skill development.
Night deepened. The RV pulled over to the roadside.
The two made a careful sweep of the area, confirmed there were no mutated creatures nearby, ate self-heating rice, and slept quietly in the RV for the night.
The next morning at 8 a.m., they were quickly on the move again.
After an hour of unobstructed driving, Bai Shan looked up and spotted a blue road sign ahead.
[Nanzhou City (Nanzhoushi) 120 km]
Both of them perked up — not just because their destination was near, but because the road showed no obvious signs of damage, and the sign was fully intact. Things once taken for granted, still preserved as they had been, offered a quiet measure of reassurance.
The vehicle sped up. Bai Shan observed the scenery outside the window and concluded: "Someone has definitely been maintaining this stretch."
The guardrails on both sides of the highway were visibly warped. Dark stains lingered on the asphalt. There were even animal carcasses flattened by being driven over again and again — all evidence that severe accidents or attacks had occurred here. Someone had simply cleaned up afterward.
Bai Shan still remembered the pileups they had encountered right after leaving Rong City, car wrecks blocking the road one after another. She had had to use [Tyrannical Command] to clear the way.
Compared to the chaos of those early days, this leg of the journey felt positively comfortable. Bai Shan's expectations for Nanzhou City rose another notch.
In the distance, she could already make out the large welcome sign reading [Welcome to Nanzhou City].
Soon, the black vehicle passed beneath the welcome arch, rolled through the deserted highway toll station, and drove straight toward the city centre.
The moment they entered the urban area, the surroundings came alive.
Beneath billboards plastered with celebrity faces, clusters of people gathered, lugging bags of all sizes, bartering goods. A middle-aged man rummaged through a luxury-brand bag and pulled out a packet of table salt, haggling with a younger man across from him who held two packs of cigarettes.
A group of geared-up young people passed by, discussing something amongst themselves. Bai Shan guessed they were heading out on a quest.
After watching for a while, Bai Shan grasped the real weight of Nanzhou City still having a million residents. The streets were a patchwork of every demographic — lovey-dovey couples still finding time for romance amid the apocalypse, clusters of middle-schoolers who looked like they were on a study trip, groups of elderly people gathered together like a senior tour group, and plenty of obvious family units.
She even spotted a baby barely able to walk, surrounded by its mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, maternal grandmother, and maternal grandfather. Bai Shan was at a loss for words. She could only salute the fact that this formidable clan had made it through in one piece!
With so many people lining the road, the RV stuck out like a sore thumb. It suddenly dawned on Bai Shan — did her vehicle even have a licence plate?
Whether or not that was the reason, passersby kept casting curious, wary glances their way.
"Bai Shan, besides us, I don't think I see a single other vehicle?" Lin Huijun said, puzzled.
Bai Shan replied: "That's great. Nice and spacious — no need to drive on the pavement."
Lin Huijun was about to pull over and find someone to ask about the local situation.
Her pupils suddenly contracted. She slammed the brakes.
Someone had planted themselves in front of their vehicle, waving frantically at them.
"Which city did you drive in from? No driving inside the city!"
It was a young woman in a yellow windbreaker who looked like a university student. Lin Huijun hurried out of the car and apologised: "Sorry, we just got here. We don't know the local rules."
The young woman shook her head, puzzled. "That's odd. Did you come in via the highway?"
Lin Huijun nodded.
"There are supposed to be people stationed at the highway exit to guide newcomers. You didn't see anyone?"
Lin Huijun shook her head. "We didn't see anyone, so we just drove straight in."
The young woman sized up the outsider, seeming to assess whether she was lying. Perhaps because Lin Huijun had an honest face, she believed her.
"I see. That means they were... slacking off again. Must be nice having it so easy." Her voice dropped, her tone laced with sarcasm. Lin Huijun did not understand the implication.
"Tell you what — I can take you to see someone from the official organisation and explain the situation." The young woman wiggled her eyebrows. "But, well, I haven't had lunch yet."
Lin Huijun got the message. This was a transaction. She offered: "One tin of canned food?"
The young woman continued: "Your situation is kind of tricky. If it goes badly, they might classify you as unauthorised intruders — dangerous elements. But I'm a stand-up person. If I take you there, I'll definitely vouch for you."
"How about this, miss — one can plus one fresh pomelo?"
"Look, you still don't understand how things — wait, a pomelo? Like, the fruit?"
Hearing "pomelo," the young woman's face twisted with inner conflict before she finally agreed. The last time she had tasted fresh fruit felt like another century ago.
She glanced at the black RV. Another person was faintly visible inside. Two teenagers who had driven that conspicuous RV all the way to Nanzhou City in one piece were clearly no pushovers. Better to quit while she was ahead.
"All right. Have your friend park the RV by the roadside. The officials will send someone to deal with it later."
Lin Huijun, who had been agreeable the whole time, furrowed her brow. "Can't we keep driving?"
"There are strict rules about vehicles here. Don't worry — we have good order. Anyone who vandalises your vehicle will be punished."
As the young woman was saying this, a cool, flat voice drifted down from above.
"That car over there seems to be driving just fine."
Bai Shan had leaned halfway out of the window, pointing at a black SUV in the distance.
The young woman followed her finger and looked. Surprise flashed across her face. "That's Cheng Yue's car! She — someone like her can definitely drive."
"Oh? Then I'd like to drive too. What kind of person do I need to be?" Bai Shan asked.
The young woman was getting annoyed. She felt like this person was deliberately picking a fight. Her tone sharpened: "The name on the leaderboard at 61st says Cheng Yue! Where does your name rank?"
*
Comments
Post a Comment