Early the next morning, just as dawn began to break, Ethan Carter extinguished the campfire and set out once again for the abandoned city with Natasha Romanoff.
As expected of someone with years of professional training, Natasha looked just as energetic as ever despite sleeping only three or four hours.
Following the route they had explored the previous day, the two arrived safely in front of a large office building.
Places like convenience stores were the first locations everyone would search. Instead of wasting time looting another nearly empty shop, Ethan decided it was worth gambling on an office tower instead.
The skyscraper rose dozens of stories into the air. It must have housed hundreds of office workers before the world fell, which meant there was a good chance of finding snacks and other supplies.
His gamble paid off.
Not long after entering the building, Ethan found food behind the reception desk and inside the security office.
Unfortunately, it was mostly potato chips, crackers, and other packaged snacks.
What bothered him was that none of the packaging had expiration dates. There was no way to tell whether the food was still edible.
Fortunately, the game’s identification feature solved that problem.
[Soft Potato Chips — If you don’t mind the soggy texture, these chips can satisfy your hunger without causing any side effects.]
[Rock-Hard Crackers — Although they haven’t spoiled, it’s recommended to soften them with water before eating. Your teeth and stomach will thank you.]
...
After seeing more items like these, Ethan gradually figured out how the system worked.
Unless the game specifically marked a food item as unsafe, it was generally still edible—even if it had developed some unusual characteristics.
For example, he found a box of donuts.
Under normal circumstances, they would have molded long ago.
Instead, the game described them as simply having lost all their sweetness. They were perfectly safe to eat.
He also found a loaf of Moldy Bread.
The game clearly warned that eating it could cause severe food poisoning and might even be fatal.
Even so, Ethan tossed it into his inventory.
If he didn’t eat it himself, he could always use it as bait for traps—or trade it with someone else.
Squeak! Squeak!
A series of sharp squeals echoed from somewhere nearby.
Ethan exchanged a glance with Natasha.
Without speaking, the two silently advanced toward the sound, one covering the other.
Inside what looked like an office break room, they spotted a rat larger than a German shepherd.
The giant rodent was furiously gnawing on a baguette.
Judging from the pile of bread crumbs scattered across the floor, it had apparently been locked in an epic battle against the loaf for quite some time.
Because Natasha had been summoned by the System, she and Ethan had developed a basic understanding that allowed them to communicate through simple eye contact.
Ethan slowly raised the Silent Hunter, carefully aiming at the rat’s head.
Meanwhile, Natasha scanned the surrounding area, making sure nothing could ambush them while he lined up the shot.
Thwip!
He squeezed the trigger.
The armor-piercing bolt shot silently through the air and pierced straight through the giant rat’s skull.
The creature died instantly.
Its final thought probably being...
"All I wanted was to eat my bread."
After confirming the break room was clear, Ethan and Natasha slipped inside and quietly shut the door.
Ethan placed a hand on the corpse.
A System prompt appeared immediately.
[Dead Ironfang Giant Rat detected. Collect?]
"Collect."
The rat dissolved into white light.
At the same time, two new items appeared inside Ethan’s inventory.
[Ironfang Giant Rat Meat ×5 — Average-quality meat. Cook thoroughly before eating. Consuming it raw may cause stomach illness.]
[Ironfang Giant Rat Teeth ×2 — Teeth as hard and sharp as steel. A crafting material used in certain weapons.]
After reading the descriptions, Ethan removed one piece of rat meat from his inventory.
It had already been neatly processed into a steak roughly half a pound in weight.
After putting it away again, he smiled.
"It isn’t exactly gourmet, but once it’s cooked, we’ll have enough meat for several meals."
After thoroughly searching the break room, the pair continued onward.
Before leaving, Ethan made sure to recover his crossbow bolt.
Because they advanced carefully, clearing every room before moving on, they had only finished exploring the first floor by the time evening approached.
Neither of them hesitated.
They immediately began the journey back to their cabin.
As they exited the abandoned city, the monsters’ roars became noticeably more frequent.
They also sounded far more aggressive than they had the previous day.
Once safely back inside the cabin, Ethan immediately lit the campfire and began roasting the rat meat.
Natasha spoke first.
"Commander, the monsters in the city seem much more active today. I think they’ll continue becoming more dangerous as time passes."
Ethan nodded.
"I agree."
"Take today’s Ironfang Giant Rat for example."
"If we hadn’t ambushed it—and if the Silent Hunter didn’t fire armor-piercing bolts—we probably couldn’t have killed it quietly."
"And judging by the fact that it was chewing on a loaf of bread instead of hunting larger prey, it’s probably near the bottom of the food chain."
"If that’s true..."
"The predators at the top are going to be far more dangerous."
Natasha placed a hand over her chest.
"Commander, even if it costs me my life, I’ll protect you."
Ethan couldn’t help glancing at her for a moment before smiling.
"We’re both going to survive."
As they waited for the meat to finish cooking, Ethan opened the game’s chat interface.
The first thing he noticed in the Regional Channel was the player count.
It had dropped from 10,000 to just over 9,000.
In a single day, several hundred players had already died.
That alone spoke volumes about how deadly this world truly was.
And if Natasha’s theory was correct—if monsters continued becoming more active with each passing day—the death toll would only continue to climb.
Compared to yesterday, the Regional Chat contained far fewer complaints and impossible wishes.
Most players were now sharing practical survival advice.
"If the game says a food item isn’t safe to eat, don’t ignore the warning. People really are dying from it."
"Easy for you to say. If I’m starving to death, I’ll eat anything. Better to die with a full stomach."
"Stop talking about food... I’m hungry again. I’ve only managed to find one rice cracker all day."
"It’s dangerous outside, but you have to keep exploring. Once you run out of energy, it’ll be too late."
"Anyone willing to trade food? I’ve got other materials!"
Seeing so many players desperate for food, Ethan immediately opened the Marketplace.
Unlike yesterday’s nearly empty listings, the Marketplace was now filled with trade offers.
Almost all of them were looking for food or clean drinking water.
[Offering: 200 Firewood → Wanted: 100g Bread]
[Offering: 100 Stone → Wanted: One 300ml Bottle of Water]
...
Some players were even trying to trade watches, jewelry, stockings, and other personal belongings.
But in a world where survival came first, almost no one cared about luxury items anymore.
After browsing for a while without finding anything worthwhile, Ethan was about to close the Marketplace.
Then one newly posted listing suddenly caught his attention...