Chapter 23: Opportunity—Spend 29 Million Survival Coins in One Hour!

A day after the blizzard began, there was still no sign of it stopping.

A film crew this large couldn’t just sit around indefinitely. Hotel rooms, meals, wages for more than a hundred employees, equipment rentals—the moment production officially started, the crew began burning through money every day.

With so many people on the payroll, the director might as well put them to work. The next day, Tang Danqing received a notice from the director in the group chat:

【All principal cast and crew members are to report to XX Middle School today as volunteers and help the fire department evacuate students trapped in the dormitories.】

Of course, everyone had to wear the production’s promotional jackets, with a red sash bearing the film’s title tied over them. The publicity team had to come along and record all the behind-the-scenes footage, while those staying at the hotel were to prepare the press releases.

Ah, these days… It’s all about staying in the public eye.

Tang Danqing got changed. Before heading out, she checked with Mengmeng, her assistant, who was staying in the next room.

Mengmeng frowned and said reluctantly, “Sister Danqing, I’m still on my period, and I feel awful. Do I really have to go?”

She was paid a little over ten thousand yuan a month, and yet she had to stay up all night and follow Tang Danqing up mountains and down into the sea. It was so unfair! Like today—Tang Danqing would go do charity work, and once the press release came out, all the good publicity would go to her. Who would notice the assistant who’d suffered right alongside her? Why should she have to?!

“Sure. You can rest in your room. If you don’t feel well, drink plenty of water and lie down for a while.” Tang Danqing didn’t push her. She nodded and went on her own.

The crew had thirteen snow vehicles. They carried more than sixty people to the volunteer site.

【Blue Star Online: Server 2 has fewer than 10 survivors remaining. Beginning automatic merger…】

The middle school where the students were trapped stood on a hillside. Because of the terrain, getting from the gate at the bottom to the dormitory building above meant climbing a spiral staircase that rose more than ten meters, then four long flights of stone steps. The dorms stood more than thirty meters above ground level, leaving the students stranded on the slope.

The film crew joined the rescue teams. Following instructions, they shoveled snow, secured ropes, and cleared obstacles. At minus twenty degrees, everyone could keep warm with thick clothes and face coverings.

Tang Danqing bent to her work with a shovel. The more she worked, the hotter she got.

She was agile and steady on her feet. Along with several other actors who had solid martial arts training, she was chosen to enter the dormitory and help bring the students out.

The scene was chaotic, but orderly.

One student after another was given cold-weather gear and led outside. Their footprints trailed through the snow, one after another, like a flock of goslings waddling along.

In a dorm room with only one student left, Tang Danqing woke a girl who was fast asleep under her blankets. She patted the girl’s shoulder, helped her up, and led her outside, telling her where to collect some warm clothes. Then she followed the rescue worker ahead of her.

She continued down the hallway, checking the next room for anyone left behind.

She opened the door and took two steps inside. As she looked toward the bathroom, it was as if a cat had stepped on her tail. Her instincts warned her.

The hairs on her neck stood on end. The sense that someone was hiding behind the door surged through her, and she instinctively ducked aside.

A clothes pole whooshed over her head.

Tang Danqing spun around. The next second, someone flung a handful of powder into her face—

What was that?!

She squeezed her eyes shut. A strange fragrance filled her nose, and dizziness swept over her at once. The world spun upside down.

Damn it! You can dodge an attack you see coming, but not a sneak attack!

The attacker’s elbow slammed into her face with a thud.

As she blacked out, Tang Danqing had one last thought:

How was this one a trained fighter too?!

When the attacker heard someone else coming to search the room, they hurriedly dragged Tang Danqing beneath the bed and hid her there.

One search party passed, then another. At last, much later, the building fell quiet.

The attacker stripped off Tang Danqing’s strange, high-tech jacket and wrapped it around themselves. It was so warm.

Then they pulled a tiny flashlight from a pocket and nudged its switch. It lit up!

Such a marvel of craftsmanship!

Pain, pain, pain. It hurt so much.

The instant Tang Danqing woke up, she almost thought she was hallucinating.

But the pain was real. Her slashed arm hurt. The pain was real!

The attacker, with long hair hanging over the face and obscuring whether they were a man or a woman, crouched beside her. They had hold of Tang Danqing’s arm and were drinking her blood, their teeth biting into the flesh.

Tang Danqing felt each bite. Her heart seemed ready to burst through her chest, pounding as it pumped blood into her limbs.

Her body had gone inexplicably limp. But as the attacker sank their teeth in again, terror and the will to survive surged through Tang Danqing, flooding her body like a shot of adrenaline.

She slapped the floor and rolled onto her side. Grabbing the attacker’s arm with both hands, she twisted and slammed them down, then drove a knee into their chest. The moment the attacker cried out in pain, Tang Danqing locked their wrist, twisted their arm, and forced their elbow against the shoulder joint with all her strength!

She had only one burst of strength left. With it, she broke the attacker’s right arm.

The attacker was wearing Tang Danqing’s jacket, but fortunately, their bones were fragile. That was a stroke of luck.

Tang Danqing pinned them down and roared like a beast, drowning out their whimpers. The muscles and tendons in Tang Danqing’s arm stood out as blood surged faster through her veins.

They struggled. Through the attacker’s filthy, matted hair, Tang Danqing saw one terrified eye.

The attacker tried to get up. Tang Danqing couldn’t tell if they meant to run or fight back, so she hooked a leg around their foot and kept grappling with them. Grappling focused on the arms; Tang Danqing meant to wrench the other one out of its socket too—

She was out for blood. After feinting a two-handed chokehold, she went right back to wrist-and-shoulder locks. The attacker realized what she was doing, kicked her away, and staggered free before sprinting off!

Cornered prey will fight back. Don’t push it!

At least I scared them off. I can’t keep this up…

Tang Danqing lay alone on the floor, her breathing growing slower. Her body was still weak, and her head was spinning.

She spotted an oily paper packet on the floor. It had held the knockout powder, with a few grains still stuck to it. That stuff was why she still couldn’t muster any strength.

There was also something left where the attacker had fled: a copper coin…?

It was round on three sides, but someone had ground the fourth side flat and sharpened it. Blood stained the edge. Tang Danqing’s arm still hurt, so she knew this was what the attacker had used to cut her.

How… unusual…

She tried to get up, but passed out again.

【Blue Star Online: Server 3 has fewer than 10 survivors remaining. Beginning automatic merger…】

Night fell, and the clock struck midnight.

【Blue Star Online: Server 4 has fewer than 10 survivors remaining. Beginning automatic merger…】

Shang You sat at her desk, sculpting a little clay figure of Tang Danqing. She shaped a graceful outline, sharp brows and eyes, a high nose, fair skin, and a lean frame. It looked about seventy percent like Tang Danqing.

If Tang Danqing came home next time, she’d recognize it as hers.

Maybe she’d be happier, too.

Shang You studied the little figure, confident it would win Tang Danqing over…

She was already imagining how she’d pose and what she’d say when the time came. Then a sound went beep beside her ear.

She looked up, pupils narrowing. A Pocket Shop interface had appeared in front of her.

A yellow banner and red exclamation marks flashed a warning:

【The shop is about to close. You have one hour to spend your remaining Survival Coins on whatever you need. The countdown has begun!】

59:59, 59:58, 59:57…

The first item Shang You saw was “Yangchun Noodles,” priced at 8 Survival Coins. Her gaze immediately shifted to the bottom right.

A long string of numbers followed the word “Balance,” and she stared at it in shock.

【Survival Coin Balance: 29,063,200 coins】

【Warning: Balance will be cleared soon. Spend your coins immediately. Balance will be cleared soon. Spend your coins immediately. Balance will be cleared soon!】

Shang You didn’t even have time to wonder where the coins had come from. She bought one serving of Yangchun Noodles. When it materialized in front of her, solid and real, she put it into her Spatial Storage and realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

She had one hour to spend all twenty-nine million Survival Coins!