The entire channel was going crazy over one topic: “Big Red.”
Clara frowned and scrolled up. When she saw the photo of the paper cup with the heart pattern that Bonnie had posted, her heart lurched. She took one of the paper cups she had made out of her Storage Space and checked the side. The red heart with a tail stared back at her.
“Fuck!”
Clara shot up from her seat, a chill running from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.
“This fucking thing is a permanent blueprint, and it comes with its own marker?”
She had never imagined that the identity she had been hiding so carefully would be exposed by an inconspicuous little paper cup.
Chat Channel💬Anonymous Player-Bounty! Anyone who provides the exact coordinates of Big Red gets 26 gallons of gas.-💬Anonymous Player-I’ll raise it! Whoever can capture her alive gets my only [D-rank Enhancement Potion].-💬Anonymous Player-I’m personally very interested in this woman. Anyone with information, please provide leads. The reward is generous. DM me.-
Reading one bounty message after another, Clara’s face went pale. She felt like she had been stripped naked and thrown under thousands of greedy eyes.
“Shit. I really screwed this up.”
From this moment on, her easy days of leisurely scavenging were over. She had become, in everyone’s eyes, a walking treasure chest. Then again, the other survivors knew the seller was a woman, but they didn’t know what she looked like. If she stayed careful, she would be fine.
That let her breathe a little easier.
Should I go back and kill that woman? She’s the only one who’s seen my face.
After a moment of hesitation, Clara shook her head. The rules of this world clearly stated that you couldn’t turn back, only move forward. Even if someone could move back and forth, there was a distance limit, and she had no idea where the other woman was now. She raked her fingers through her blonde hair in frustration, nearly turning it into a bird’s nest.
AnnouncementNoticeDetailsAll-Region noticethe first “Wilderness Challenge” is live!Challenge Time12:00 to 17:00. Keep track of the time.RulesMiss the highway window and you stay in the wilderness forever.Travel on foot only.The wilderness is stocked with supply crates and threats.Enjoy it, everyone.
Looking at the announcement, Clara’s eyes flashed with a sharp glint. To her, this was both a crisis and a turning point. Right now everyone was focused on finding her. If she was discovered, she would be swarmed. Entering the wilderness was dangerous, but it was also a good chance to lay low and gather resources. More importantly, that Wood Element Core might be out there.
She was done hesitating. Clara drew a deep breath, a ruthless look in her eyes.
“You want to catch me? Impossible. Not happening. My fate is mine, not decided by anyone else. Whether I live or die, I make that call.”
She took all two quarts of water from the water collector, locked the car, and, holding her Repeating Crossbow and axe, stepped resolutely into the wilderness on her left. It was a stretch of badlands, the ground covered in rubble and sparse brush, the air thick with dry heat. Clara didn’t rush deeper. She moved forward along the edge of the road for a while.
She did that to put distance between herself and the spot where she had gotten out of the car. If anyone was watching, it would also reduce the chance of her movements being spotted. The odds were low, but extra caution never hurt. As she walked, she studied the ground. Footprints would stand out easily on the badlands, especially in high heels. She tried to walk on hard rock, avoiding tracks in the soft sand.
After about fifteen minutes, she spotted a brown supply crate. Clara didn’t go up to it right away. She raised her Repeating Crossbow and scanned the area around it. The wilderness was open terrain, and every rock or bush could hide danger. Unlike the road, where danger could only come from ahead or behind. After confirming there was no unusual movement, she approached slowly and used her axe to open the crate.
LootItemDetails🍫 Ration Bars x3Food ration. Fills the stomach.💧 Bottled Water x2Clean drinking water. Held dear in every trade.🛠️ Steel Ingot x4Refined metal. Used in crafting and vehicle upgrades.
Just the most common supplies. Clara wasn’t disappointed. After packing the items away, she left the spot immediately and continued deeper into the wilderness. She hadn’t gone far when she stopped, crouched down, and studied a patch of sand ahead. The sand there showed signs of slight sinking, forming an irregular circular area.
Quicksand?
In badlands like this, a place like that was a deadly trap. Once you got stuck, the more you struggled, the faster you sank. She carefully went around it. As she did, a glint of metal caught the corner of her eye.
In the center of the quicksand, half of a silver-white supply crate was sinking.
Clara turned and walked away without a backward glance. Risking a ninety percent chance of death for an uncertain crate was something only an idiot would do.
Meanwhile, Derek’s SUV was parked on the side of the road, only a few miles from where Clara had parked earlier. He looked at the [Wilderness Challenge] announcement on his wristband, then glanced at the wound on his chest, his eyes dark. He had gotten lucky. Not long after escaping, he took a risk and killed a zombie guarding a white supply crate. It dropped a C-rank Healing Spray. The spray had only stabilized his injuries. To fully heal, he needed more medicine.
“Big Red?”
He stared at the Chat Channel.
I don’t know if I can reach them. And with this injury, who knows when I’ll recover.
He glanced at the terrain on both sides of the highway, then fixed his eyes on the badlands to the left.
“Before I tame that little mustang, I need to heal up first.”
Derek checked his gear, picked up his entrenching tool, and stepped off the highway into the badlands. His urgency came mainly from a huge flaw in his talent. After activating the skill, Strength and speed increased by 50%, but once it ended he fell into a one-hour “Weakened” state, with all attributes dropping by 80%. On top of that, survivors relied heavily on Spirit. Once it was drained, it was like a mage with no mana, a car with no gas.
Meanwhile, Clara walked for another half hour before an abandoned village appeared ahead. Most of the adobe walls had collapsed, wooden beams were scattered across the ground, and the whole village was terrifyingly quiet. The only sound was the hot wind rustling through the bushes. Clara stopped, hid behind a boulder, and observed the village through her crossbow’s scope. A complex environment meant more danger, but it could also mean richer supplies.
She didn’t take the village’s main road. No one knew if there were traps on it. Besides, the main road was wide open. If she got surrounded, she wouldn’t have time to hide. After making sure it was safe, Clara circled around to the side of the village and climbed over a half-collapsed courtyard wall.