Tang Yun followed his gaze and saw a high school-aged girl following behind Wang Zhan. Wang Zhan pulled the girl over and enthusiastically recounted the events they had encountered along the way.
Most of the time, she just listened without responding much. She hadn’t expected Wang Zhan to be so talkative after returning from studying abroad—he had changed a lot since childhood.
“Xiao Yun, Chuchu and I ran into quite a few troubles on the way, and Chuchu even injured her hand. Do you still have any medicine? I’d like to borrow some.”
Tang Yun retrieved the medical kit from the car and handed out the wound medicine.
After receiving the medicine, Wang Zhan thanked her sincerely and left, pulling “Chuchu” along with him.
Tang Yun and Lu Chuan exchanged a glance, then wordlessly returned to the car.
“There’s something off about that Chuchu. Before, she looked like a woman in her twenties, but now she appears to be no more than sixteen or seventeen.”
Lu Chuan added to her observation, “Mr. Wang doesn’t seem to have noticed this, or perhaps he believes Chuchu has always looked this way and never changed.”
“Be careful. Last time we left the residential area, they followed us the whole way.”
“Mm, let’s go check out the situation with this Ring.” Tang Yun unconsciously tapped her leg, her head slightly lowered and her expression calm, but her mind was preoccupied—she only had twenty days left.
Food was plentiful, but if she couldn’t get out, she would still face System Erasure!
Tang Yun and Lu Chuan inspected the red Ring wall, which was roughly 300 square meters in size—about the size of two classrooms. Aside from the open top, the surroundings were completely enclosed without a single gap, clearly not the work of humans.
Inside, aside from a restroom, the space was completely empty. The water from the restroom sink was undrinkable.
Those who had previously lacked water or food couldn’t resist drinking the sink water and immediately died from poisoning.
Those who died inside the Ring would transform into a wisp of red light, attaching to the Ring and vanishing completely, not even leaving behind blood.
Tang Yun wandered around the ground until 8 p.m. but found nothing of note. She could only return to the car and close the windows. Fortunately, the off-road vehicle was equipped with privacy glass, allowing the two of them to take out canned food to eat.
Outside, many people had already run out of supplies, but Tang Yun couldn’t share her food. Helping one person wouldn’t help everyone, and revealing her wealth would only invite endless danger.
In this apocalypse, no one could save anyone else; the only one to rely on was oneself.
After eating their fill, Tang Yun and Lu Chuan took turns keeping watch, resting inside the car.
She took the first watch while Lu Chuan slept in the back seat. Even though the off-road vehicle was spacious, with his height of over 1.85 meters, he still had to curl up to sleep.
The late autumn night was cold. Tang Yun wrapped herself in a blanket and curled up in the driver’s seat to rest.
Over the next few days, the situation inside the Ring remained relatively stable, with no fights breaking out for the time being.
On the fifteenth day of the apocalypse, Tang Yun had spent five days inside the Ring. The wait was becoming unbearably frustrating.
Similarly, the atmosphere inside the Ring grew increasingly tense.
Among the fifty or sixty people, some had begun to run low on food.
What Tang Yun feared wasn’t the lack of food. What worried her was that among these fifty or sixty people, she didn’t know how many could see the Red Dot Tracking on her body or how many were secretly plotting to kill her.
Many survivors had formed teams, with the largest groups consisting of up to twenty people, while others were lone wolves. The most common were teams of five or six people gathered together.
One afternoon, in front of a jeep, a young man in a windbreaker was recruiting people to join their team.
“Everyone, it’s already unfortunate enough that we’re trapped here. With food running low and the constant threat of robbery, shouldn’t we unite to resist violence?”
“My team already has ten people. If you join us, we’ll grow quickly, and no one will dare provoke us then.”
Many around the jeep voiced their agreement. “That’s right, this red Ring is too strange. These past few days, the red color has been fading. Could it be that once the red completely disappears, we’ll be able to get out?”
“We don’t know when we can leave, but before that, the most important thing is to protect our lives and food.”
“You’re all thinking correctly. Besides, Brother Fang is a reliable leader. Following him, we’re sure to get through this.”
The young man leaning against the jeep was surnamed Fang, named Fang Lan.
Seeing that many were moved, he revealed a gentle smile. “Those who want to join my team can come over now. I won’t forcibly take your food. You just need to unite when conflicts arise and avoid fighting with fellow team members.”
Fang Lan’s assurance led many to start discussing in low voices.
Tang Yun watched them and nudged Lu Chuan with her elbow. “What do you think?”
Lu Chuan remained as calm and composed as ever, analyzing, “Not great. It’s not like his is the only team forming; others will band together too. Besides, when real chaos breaks out, these loosely binding rules are useless. People will still rob when they want to, and internal fights are unavoidable.”
Though Tang Yun and Lu Chuan had no intention of joining a team, Fang Lan personally approached them.
“Beautiful lady, would you like to join my team?” Fang Lan’s smile was just right, not giving off an oily impression.
Tang Yun glanced at his bright smile and, not wanting to draw more attention, chose to keep the peace. “Sure, I’ll join.”
Just then, a scuffle broke out near a vehicle in the northwest corner.
Those who lost the fight not only had their food stolen but were also stabbed several more times. The two who died turned into red light and merged into the Ring, causing its color to fade even more.
Many, like Tang Yun, noticed this, and some even boldly speculated.
Would the Ring disappear if enough people died, allowing them to escape this cursed place?
Those who had been acting alone noticed this and began actively joining teams.
Tang Yun counted the people here—fewer than fifty remained.
They were roughly divided into three teams, each occupying a spot, and for now, no one provoked a conflict.
On the seventeenth day of the apocalypse, Tang Yun noticed many gazes lingering on her, most filled with killing intent.
This killing intent varied—some wanted to rob her of her food, thinking that as a woman, she’d be easier to overpower than a man.
Some killing intent was more straightforward, treating her as an NPC to clear the level. She was just a red dot; eliminating her might mean escaping this cursed place, and the Ring would no longer hold them.
Lu Chuan also noticed Tang Yun’s predicament and deliberately opened the car door, his tone unusually gentle. “Go inside and rest first. I’ll keep watch and call you if anything happens.”
“Alright.” Tang Yun got into the car and closed her eyes to rest, though she knew she couldn’t fall asleep.
She never knew when an accident might strike, so she had to be prepared at all times, never placing her hopes in others.