Shocked, I'm the Favorites in the Survival Game - chapter 18

Current balance: 1,690 yuan

On the main road, Chu Yi’an felt rather pleased as she drove her four-wheeled electric mobility scooter (nicknamed “Old man’s joy”). For someone so young, she had managed to buy a four-wheeled vehicle outright.

She parked the vehicle and carried her belongings upstairs.

Barring any surprises, she wouldn’t be going out again for a while.

Just recalling the image of the young man vomiting in the hotpot restaurant was enough to make her lose her appetite. Chu Yi’an didn’t feel like eating, so she simply slumped onto the sofa and turned on the television, which she had never used until now.

There weren’t many programs on TV.

It was either city profiles, documentaries, or local news.

Wait, the news!

She immediately sat up and switched the channel to the news.

Local news mostly reported trivial matters.

Someone fell victim to telecom fraud,
A couple in a certain residential community was getting divorced after sixty years of marriage,
And a local resident’s home had been burglarized…

Everything seemed so small and ordinary.

[At 11:03 this morning, a traffic accident occurred in our city’s Fucheng District. A taxi suddenly lost control and collided with a nearby bus, resulting in six injuries.

After investigation, it was found that the taxi driver fainted due to a fever.

Currently, all six people involved, including the driver, are being treated at the hospital, and none are in life-threatening condition.]

The news briefly showed scenes from the hospital.

Among the patients, one person had many red spots on their arm, but the camera quickly moved on, so it was impossible to get a closer look.

But from now on, she would just stay at home; whatever happened outside, she would be safe for now.

Game, day three

After two days of not eating well, Chu Yi’an’s stomach was rumbling with hunger. She sat up, looked at the supplies stacked in her small apartment, and decided to cook herself a good meal today.

There was shrimp in the fridge.

She removed the veins, split them in half, laid them on top of soaked vermicelli, added minced garlic and other seasonings, and steamed everything for twenty minutes. The garlic vermicelli with shrimp was ready.

Then she cracked an egg and steamed it into an egg custard.

She stir-fried a small side dish and steamed a pot of rice.

The meal smelled simply wonderful.

Chu Yi’an carried the food to the TV and ate while watching, still tuned to the news channel.

[Today, a new infectious disease was discovered in our city. Six people have been confirmed infected; one has died and five are in intensive care. Research has found this to be a highly contagious and deadly disease. All those who had close contact with the six have already been quarantined for observation. All citizens are advised to pay attention to personal hygiene and germ protection, to wear masks when going outdoors in the coming days, and to avoid crowded places.]

Has the infectious disease already begun?

Chu Yi’an set down her chopsticks and focused on the news.

But just like the seasonal viral flu outbreaks, although it was reported, after a brief two-minute introduction there was no further elaboration.

Chu Yi’an looked at the description of the disease: highly contagious, highly lethal.

Staying in was definitely the right choice.

But what about the other players?

Chu Yi’an recalled the conversations on the forum and realized she wasn’t the only one playing this game. Everyone had the same initial funds (2,000 yuan). Would those people, like her, stock up on supplies and hide in a room, or were they out making money?

As she was thinking about this, she suddenly heard voices in the hallway outside.

She was renting in a newly completed apartment complex, on the eighth floor.
There was only one tenant on this floor-her. How could there be anyone outside?

Puzzled, she unlocked the steel door inside and peered out through the peephole. She saw several workers standing in the hallway, and besides them, a man in a black shirt, wearing rimless glasses, tall and striking in appearance, stood off to the side.

Chu Yian was just curious to take a look.

Who would have thought she’d run into someone she knew?

“Teacher Lu!”

Could this be the world that was attacked by zombies?

The zombie crisis had barely passed, and now there was an epidemic crisis?

Isn’t this world a bit too disaster-prone?!

Chu Yian grumbled to herself as she put on her mask and unlocked the door. “Teacher Lu! I’m so happy to see you again!”

She was excited, but the man looked at her with unfamiliarity. “Who are you?”

“I’m Chu Yian!”

She took a deep breath, pulled down her mask to let him see her face, then quickly put it back on. “We fought our way out of the zombie horde together, we’re bonded by life and death! It’s only been a few days, and you don’t recognize me?”

Zombie horde? Bonded by life and death?

The man’s previously distant expression turned cold. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Chu Yian was stunned by his icy words.

“Sir, the lock has been replaced for you, including the soundproofing materials around it,” one of the workers said. “If there’s nothing else, we’ll be leaving now.”

“Mm, okay.”

Lu Qingyuan nodded, then slammed the door shut.

That completely unfamiliar attitude…

Chu Yian felt that a second meeting shouldn’t be like this. Sensing something was off, she closed her door and went back inside, pulled out her phone, and started searching for terms like zombies, zombie crisis, zombie outbreak.

She found a ton of related movies and novels.

So… maybe this isn’t the same world, and this Lu Qingyuan doesn’t have any memory of fighting zombies in the last world.

No, these are just games, and theoretically, each world she experiences is constructed.

Who’s behind the construction of these worlds?

And what’s their purpose?

Because of Lu Qingyuan’s reappearance and cold attitude, Chu Yian began to ponder the nature of this game.

But she couldn’t figure anything out.

She just felt this game was both nasty and stingy, forcing billions of people to struggle desperately inside, yet giving out pitifully few rewards. And if that wasn’t enough, even the NPCs had to work double shifts.

Insane.

Damn!

##

Day Four of the Game

Chu Yian was still staying safely at home.

She still got up early and turned on the TV, and while the news was playing-thankfully not about the epidemic-she eagerly took out her Treasure Chest.

After a full 72 hours of cooldown, the Treasure Chest’s Create from Nothing skill could be used again.

The chest glowed as Chu Yian reached inside expectantly.

She felt a cylindrical, rather light object.

[Roll of Raw Pulp Toilet Paper]

[Note: Will be reclaimed after this round of the game ends.]

[Good Item’s Thoughts: Toilet paper you can buy at the supermarket for three yuan. If this counts as a good item… it must be when you’re empty-handed and need to go big.]