Chapter 3: First Venture Out

Although Qiao Duoduo was intelligent, her weak point was that she had barely played online games. Her excuse: she got dizzy with 3D movement and could only handle 2.5D. In Honor of Kings, she would blink through walls effortlessly; in PUBG, she could only spin in place.

“Su-ge, should we charge?” Qiao Duoduo looked at the crowd moving outside the safe zone and cautiously asked.

“First, check the mail for the game rules. Remember our goal: stay alive, everything else comes later,” Su Ning said, her delicate doll-like face showing a visible hint of scheming.

Opening the mail, she summarized the rules. It was simple:

1. The day lasts 24 hours as usual, but you must return to the safe zone before nightfall, or the monsters will teach you a harsh lesson.
2. Seasons don’t change. Players must fight monsters. Everything drops as cards directly into the inventory, retrievable by thought.
3. Low cleanliness reduces MP, low fullness reduces HP.
4. No PK in the safe zone. At night, you can stay in a safe zone inn or sleep in the square.
   • (Sleeping in the open carries a chance to contract negative status effects like illness.)
5. Item quality is indicated by card color from low to high: White, Green, Blue, Yellow, Red, Purple, Pink.
6. Other rules are for players to discover or await system updates.

After quickly reading the information, the two decided to venture into the wild zone.

The main goal now was to adapt to the game. Even though laws no longer restrained them, people hadn’t fully realized it—or humanity hadn’t yet been completely crushed by the game. Extreme criminal behavior hadn’t appeared… yet.

Both girls were around 165 cm tall, 50 kg—slim but comparable. They were friends, with similar flat chests and facial features. Duoduo’s skin was slightly yellowish, her face slender, giving a delicate look. Su Ning’s skin was fair, her face rounder and more endearing. Both were pretty, but not stunning. With minimal daily grooming, they were just average-looking.

Not far from the safe zone, a scream shattered the quiet.

“Ah!”
“Help!”
“Ghosts!”
“Zombies!”

A crowd ran frantically toward them—or rather, toward the safe zone.

Behind the crowd came zombies.
Yes, the classic kind described in novels: blood-stained, foul-smelling, slow-moving, grotesque. Some missing limbs, others with festering sores, scars all over, and sticky unknown fluids visible from afar.

Each one bore the label “Lv.1 Low-Level Zombie”. Qiao Duoduo shrank back, pulling on Su Ning’s sleeve.
“Su-ge, let’s go. There are too many—we’ll die.”

Seeing the zombies slowly closing in, Duoduo nearly panicked.
“Su Ning, please… let’s not fight, okay?” Her trembling voice carried a plea.

“Duoduo, we can’t not fight,” Su Ning said, almost spelling out each word. What could she do? She couldn’t run. She had to fight, level up, and get home.

“But there are too many. How about we climb a tree? We can ambush from above, attack from range,” Duoduo said, grabbing at the last straw. She needed Su Ning’s approval. She was scared, but couldn’t go alone.

They were best friends: school together, work together, neighbors in the future—promised to stay together long-term.

Fortunately, both were agile and slim. Climbing a large tree was not difficult. The game-generated tree was thick, strong, and leafy, supporting both their weights and masking some smell.

Once steady, knowing the zombies couldn’t reach them even if they approached, Su Ning calmed herself and sent Duoduo a team invite.

Seeing the team info, Duoduo felt slightly reassured, like old times walking a dark path without streetlights—afraid, she’d cling to Su Ning’s arm. Su Ning would say, If anyone harasses you, run fast. I’ll grab a brick for them.

As the zombie horde approached, Duoduo cautiously loosed an arrow, hitting a zombie’s head and reducing one-third of its health. Her courage surged.

Su Ning cast Moonlight Curse once, but the zombie only lost one-fifth of its health. Being a healer, her attack wasn’t strong—she comforted herself with that.

Soon, Duoduo shot another zombie down and opened the private chat.
“Su-ge, I gained a bit of experience, and my backpack got a copper coin and a card!” She waved the card excitedly.

Su Ning, meanwhile, barely managed to hit the zombies twice, only cutting a small portion of their health.
“Wait a moment, let me finish him off, then check,” Su Ning, usually a quiet strong girl, felt oddly overshadowed by Duoduo’s action, silently wailing inside.

Finally, the last Moonlight Curse brought down a zombie. The one Duoduo killed was already respawned.
Su Ning checked her panel: I gained 2 experience, probably one for each of our kills, plus one copper coin each. I got two cards: a white card—ordinary pajamas, enhances sleep, exchangeable; a green card—delicate soup dumplings, +50 fullness, +10 HP.

Duoduo: I also got 2 experience, one copper coin. Card is white—plain bun, +20 fullness, +5 HP. So that’s the difference between white and green cards.

Duoduo didn’t envy Su Ning; after all, half of Su Ning’s loot was technically hers. She teased, “Su-ge, with your luck, I can eat well forever! Sponsor me, I’ll be the cutest sidekick.”

Su Ning smiled: I guess this is a chosen talent—100% drop of life items, 50% higher item quality. Pajamas count as life items, food counts too. This talent is broad! Life is bright; I’m winning without trying.

“Okay, I’ll shoot two arrows, you finish. Money splits evenly, cards too,” Duoduo suggested. With Su Ning’s talent, farming was safe. Though they hadn’t faced real danger before, their friendship was solid, years of trust ensuring safety.

“Alright,” Su Ning said, feeling happy inside. She liked seeing Duoduo’s cunning side. Not romantic—just the pure affection of best friends. She wanted Duoduo to be safe and happy.

Duoduo liked Su Ning, but liked Huo Yang more—that was different. Huo Yang was hers alone, and Su Ning was hers too. Hmph, tsundere. She enjoyed seeing Su Ning flustered; their occasional squabbles only deepened their bond. Best friends chosen by themselves deserved care, no matter what.

For Su Ning, Huo Yang was trouble. Back when he chased Duoduo, he seemed decent. Su Ning had praised him, vouched for his character. In the end, the couple united; poor matchmaker became the joke. What was once Su-ge became Su-dog. Marriage games aside, their trio’s bond remained strong.

Su Ning observed while fighting. Zombies were still attracted to living flesh. No matter how many they killed, the remaining horde stayed close, trying to devour them.

As sunlight touched the southern hills, the girls finally cleared all nearby zombies and reached Level 3. Duoduo had used nearly half her simple wooden arrows. The path ahead was tough.

The two decided to retreat along the same route—their monster-hunting for today complete.