Shang You thought so too.
Did Shan Qing need to stockpile food and supplies? Didn’t her oasis have everything she needed? Besides, Shan Qing hadn’t been back for long, and whenever she did return, she never seemed particularly hungry or desperate for a meal.
Then was she stockpiling supplies for daily life… for herself?
A gift for her pet?
Once someone accepted a certain definition of a situation, it seemed they could make anything that happened fit.
Shang You’s thoughts stirred.
“Shan Qing, are you going to abandon me?”
Tang Danqing suddenly heard the NPC ask in a soft, timid voice.
She turned her head. “Hm?”
The NPC had caught her lower lip between her teeth. She kept her head slightly bowed, her eyes shining as she tried to hold back her hurt and fear.
“You’re leaving supplies for me… Does that mean you won’t come back?”
So she was afraid Shan Qing would leave. Tang Danqing looked at the NPC’s stubbornly clenched jaw and the worry she couldn’t quite hide in her eyes. She looked as though it had taken all her courage to ask. Tang Danqing’s heart nearly melted.
She really was a little rabbit.
Sweet and soft.
Tang Danqing slipped an arm around the NPC’s shoulders and drew her close, rubbing the top of her head. “No. Don’t overthink it. I just want to make sure you have plenty of supplies.”
“I’ll come back. Every day. I just won’t be here for very long, so don’t worry.”
The NPC leaned against her shoulder, small and birdlike. “As long as you come back…”
Tang Danqing’s heart blossomed at those words. She rubbed her chin against Shang You’s hair and promised several more times that she’d return. The satisfaction and affection in her voice were impossible to miss.
When someone used that kind of tone, they were at their most receptive to being asked for something.
That was when Shang You made her request.
“When I was wandering before, a lot of people didn’t have enough to eat. Without enough calories to keep them warm, they died much faster in the cold. I once met a group who’d raided a supermarket for energy bars. They lived for a long time on just a few cases… Could we stock up on some too?”
The NPC spoke softly and slowly. When she asked if they could, she looked up at Tang Danqing, her eyes bright with earnest hope.
She was so well-behaved. Whenever Tang Danqing heard her speak, it always put her at ease.
The NPC’s voice was always gentle. She never said anything that might offend her. If conversation had a line you weren’t supposed to cross, the NPC kept a thousand miles between herself and it.
“Of course. You’ve got experience. We’ll stock up on whatever you say.”
Tang Danqing readily agreed. She opened the Pocket Shop and bought a case each of protein energy bars and grain energy bars. The purchase cost 2,000 Survival Coins, dropping her balance from 258,600 to 256,600. It barely made a dent.
A glance at the quest tracker showed that her progress had risen to “420/3000.”
These filling survival rations really did have a high Supply Score!
Tang Danqing bought four more cases of energy bars, bringing her progress to “1020/3000.”
The NPC hurried to move the boxes to a corner and stack them neatly.
“Do you want more of these, or should we stock up on something else?”
Following the NPC’s survival advice, Tang Danqing bought two cases of canned meat. They were heavy, so she had the NPC stand aside while she easily lifted them onto the bed platform and shoved them against the far wall.
Honey lasted almost forever and made an excellent sweetener. A case of vitamin C tablets could help prevent scurvy. Tang Danqing bought a case of each and stacked them on the platform.
Next came water purification tablets, first-aid kits, and antibiotics. A small box of advanced antibiotics cost 1,000 coins, which was expensive compared with food, but it brought in plenty of Supply Score. The moment the antibiotics appeared, the quest tracker rose by 120 points.
Progress reached “1660/3000.” Tang Danqing had figured out that food with high density, low volume, and plenty of calories offered the best value for Supply Score. Since the NPC didn’t ask for anything else, Tang Danqing started choosing cans from the Shop herself: fruit, vegetables, beans, and a few vacuum-packed nut snacks.
Why do I feel like I’m throwing money around? When are we ever going to finish all this?
Shang You stood beside her, watching in silence.
As I thought. Surviving here is effortless for Shan Qing. She can produce any supply she wants…
Eventually, she’ll get bored and leave. When she does, I’ll still have everything she left behind, won’t I?
By the time Tang Danqing completed the quest, boxes of supplies filled more than half the spare room. She checked her balance. She’d only spent 30,000 Survival Coins—about 300 yuan. That wasn’t exactly throwing money around, was it? She could think of it as buying things for fun.
Along the way, Tang Danqing had unlocked two achievements, moving from “Tiny-Tiny-Tiny-Tiny-Tiny Hamster” to “Tiny-Tiny-Tiny-Tiny Hamster.” They seemed to reflect how much she’d stockpiled.
The next quest was—
[Main Quest: You’ve gathered some supplies, but remember: wealth without the strength to protect it is just a number. Buy the Self-Defense Handbook in the Shop as soon as possible and study it with your roommate!]
Ah, self-defense.
Tang Danqing had studied martial arts at her training school and sports academy countless times. These basics were second nature to her. She only needed to teach the NPC and she’d be able to complete the quest, right?
With that in mind, Tang Danqing left the spare room and pulled the door shut behind her. She bought a book with the same title from the Shop.
The moment the purchase went through—
[Quest Complete! Reward: Crowbar x1.]
Tang Danqing froze, then looked at the crowbar that had appeared in her hand and the NPC beside her.
Oh. So the NPC had already learned self-defense too. Perfect. The quest was complete.
[Main Quest: Congratulations! You’ve laid the groundwork for protecting yourselves, but it won’t be nearly enough to survive the apocalypse. A safe, stable home is essential. Raise your Security Score above the passing mark! (2/60)]
What?!
When Tang Danqing saw the quest notification, the number “2” leaped out at her. How had her Security Score dropped to 2? It had gone down again!
She hurried to check her [Info].
[Residence Information]
[Supply Score: 3450 (Rating: When the apocalypse comes, you won’t be among the first to die. You’ve at least managed to stock up on some food.)
Security Score: 2 (Rating: Your neighbors stockpile guns while you stockpile food. You’re their pantry, and they couldn’t be happier. When the apocalypse comes, you’ll be in grave danger.)]
The ratings for Supply Score and Security Score seemed to be fighting each other. Tang Danqing scratched her head. The Security Score’s rating had a point!
The words “they couldn’t be happier” made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She could almost picture half a face and one eye peering at her through the crack under the door. Before she knew it, she was at the entryway, staring toward the front door…
THUD. THUD. THUD!
Right then, heavy knocks rattled the door like blows from a war drum.
What timing! The knock made every hair on Tang Danqing’s body stand on end.
Her relief and delight at completing the quest vanished. The NPC took a baton from the cabinet and handed it to her, looking worried. “Should I use this?”
Tang Danqing took a breath and collected herself.
It was only a game. Another NPC had come by. Why was she scaring herself?
She patted the NPC’s hair reassuringly. “Don’t be scared. Do you know how to use the baton?”
“A little…”
“Then keep it for protection. I’ll see who it is.”
Tang Danqing took the crowbar she’d just received. Muscle memory made her spin it through a flourish like a sword, and she strode toward the door.
Three more heavy knocks sounded outside. In real life, if someone knocked on Tang Danqing’s door like that, she’d have been furious. They were practically trying to give her a heart attack.
But since this was a game and the person was an NPC, she decided not to nitpick.
She peered through the peephole. Sure enough, it was the NPC in the military overcoat, knocking just as he had the last time.
The NPC gazed earnestly at the peephole. In his hand was a dirty, battered snack bag that had lost most of its air. His thumb and forefinger circled the neck of a bottle that still had liquid inside.
He held up these hard-won scraps of food as he continued knocking.
Tang Danqing stepped away from the peephole and gestured for Little Jelly to take a look too.
Jelly peered outside, then looked back at her with the same quiet, obedient expression.
Tang Danqing lowered her voice. “He looks like he came to bring us something. What do you think?”
Only then did Jelly give a small shake of her head. “Be careful…”
A good deed deserved a good turn? Shang You didn’t buy it.
Anyone who’d survived this long wouldn’t have that kind of virtue.
Tang Danqing thought for a moment, then called through the door, though she already knew the answer. “Who is it?”
“It’s me…” the NPC in the military overcoat rasped. “I found some food.”
Was he trying to repay her for helping him last time?
Really?
Tang Danqing gestured for the NPC inside to hide behind her, just in case.
The safest thing would have been not to open the door. Tang Danqing didn’t need the filthy food. But then she’d miss out on part of the story.
Since the game experience mattered more, her curiosity won out. She hid the crowbar within easy reach behind the door, unlocked it, and opened up.
The NPC in the military overcoat immediately held out the snack bag and bottle. “You gave me food when I was about to die. I found some food later, and it’s still good… Please, take it…”
As he spoke, he edged half his body across the threshold.
The instant his upper body passed the door, he turned the bottle he’d been holding by the neck and swung it down at Tang Danqing’s head, fast as lightning!
It was a sneak attack, but the NPC in the military overcoat hadn’t expected his target to be so quick and agile.
Tang Danqing slipped to the side and cut in close. Now he was the one caught off guard.
She trapped his wrist like a vine winding around a branch. The next moment, she forced it back until the joint gave. He released the bottle reflexively, his body jolting with pain.
The NPC in the military overcoat let out a hoarse cry.
Just as Tang Danqing had expected, he was a paper tiger, no different from the NPC roommate she’d first met. Malnutrition had left him with no real strength to fight back, and his bones were brittle. If she’d gripped any harder, she would have broken them.
Tang Danqing kicked his knee out of alignment and was about to pin him down when the sound of the bottle hitting the floor brought four more NPCs rushing out from behind the stairwell door. Two men and two women, armed with ice axes, a curved knife, and clubs.
Tang Danqing: “?!”
In the same instant, she hauled the NPC in the military overcoat upright, seized his wrist, and twisted it behind his back against his waist. With a sharp crack, she dislocated his right shoulder.
She threw the now-incapacitated NPC onto the floor. It took him a few seconds to register the pain. Then he let out a howl.
In those same few seconds, Tang Danqing rushed into the hallway, slammed the door shut behind her, and swung her crowbar at the other four NPCs.
