◎Golden Finger◎
【Welcome to the Road Survival Game!】
A deep male voice sounded in her ear.
Yan Lan was startled and quickly stepped aside.
Seeing no one around her, she let out a sigh of relief.
See?
She had been single for over 20 years and had never had close contact with any adult male creature, so where would a man come from?
But then she was dumbfounded. Where… is this?
She was standing on an endless asphalt road. The road was very wide, about 50 lanes, clearly not a normal road.
Looking around, she saw an endless tropical savanna. The grass was short, wilted, and sparse, with occasional dry, shriveled trees. A few white clouds hung sparsely in the sky.
Yan Lan couldn’t help but let out an “Ah?” The sound had barely left her throat when it was swallowed by the emptiness. The eerie silence reminded her that she was the only living person here.
This?
She might as well have a man around!
Just as she was about to let her imagination run wild, that sexy low male voice sounded again.
【Welcome to the Road Survival Game. The following are the game rules. Please follow them strictly!】
【1. This is a road of disaster.】
【2. Each person is randomly assigned an initial means of transport. Supplies come from treasure chests and supply stations.】
【3. Vehicles can be upgraded. Higher-level vehicles can withstand dangers.】
【4. Instance missions are randomly assigned. Be careful of your teammates.】
【5. Disasters occur every 15 days. Be prepared. Current novice protection period: 3 days.】
【6. Do not drive at night. The night belongs to predators. Staying inside your vehicle will keep you safe.】
【7. Death in the game means death in reality. Cherish your life.】
【Game announcement complete! Please recite “game panel” in your mind to open your personal interface!】
After carefully listening to the system rules, Yan Lan was eager to see her initial means of transport. She looked left and right, and finally her eyes landed on the wooden handcart she had deliberately ignored at first.
It was made of wood, looked very worn out, and was covered in a layer of dust, as if it had been hauling goods without being cleaned before being dragged over to make up the numbers.
“Uh… alright.”
She accepted it helplessly and then silently called up the game panel.
A high-tech, transparent panel instantly appeared before her eyes.
The interface had a white background with blue text, simple and elegant. At the top was a prominent scrolling entry.
【Map: Tropical Savanna | Game Day: 1 | Weather: Sunny | Temperature: 28°C (Summer) | Time: 8:00 AM】
Below that was the personal profile. On the left was a profile picture, an in-game capture of her jumping in surprise when she first entered the game. The avatar was editable, but she liked this slightly blurry, artistic style, so she couldn’t be bothered to change it.
On the right were her personal attributes:
【Player: Yan Lan
Age: 21 (nominal age)
Balance: 0
Strength: 50 (upgradable)
Speed: 50 (upgradable)
Intelligence: 90 (upgradable)
Health: 85 (slightly hungry, slightly thirsty)】
The maximum for each attribute is 100. Apart from her high intelligence, her strength and speed both needed improvement. It seemed she would need to exercise more.
Below the personal profile were five sections: 【Backpack】, 【Friends】, 【Zone Channel】, 【World Channel】, and 【Trading Center】.
【Backpack】 had ten slots, the first of which was already occupied, marked as “Novice Gift Pack.”
Yan Lan didn’t open it immediately. Instead, she quickly checked the other sections. The 【Friends】 interface was empty, the 【World Channel】 was not yet available, but the 【Zone Channel】 was buzzing with activity.
She silently clicked into it. The group name displayed the region number and remaining population: 【H-38 Zone: 10,000 remaining】. It seemed the initial population of their region was 10,000.
The group chat was very smart, not only could you send text messages, but you could also take photos and post images. She saw several people posting pictures of their surroundings in the chat, but voice and video were not available.
“Where is this? Who the hell dared to kidnap me and bring me here? Be careful, or I’ll sue you! My dad is ***”
“Even if your dad were the Jade Emperor, it wouldn’t matter. Accept your fate!”
“Holy crap! Where’s my Lamborghini? How come it turned into a wooden cart? Who’s cheating me this badly? BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP…”
“Upstairs, watch your language. I lost my helicopter, so what did I say?”
“But that female voice just now was so sweet, like [1]“Sister Chiling” refers to Lin Chi-ling, a famous Taiwanese model and actress known for her exceptionally sweet, high-pitched, and gentle voice. She became widely popular across Greater … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2111022_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2111022_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });Sister Chiling.”
“Was it a female voice for you? For me, it was a male voice, sounded like a handsome guy just from listening.”
“So it adapts to the person? How thoughtful~”
“Thoughtful? Are you an idiot? Didn’t you just hear the game prompts? This is a game where people can die!”
“Boo hoo hoo, dear brothers and sisters, I’m so scared.”
“Little sister, don’t be afraid. Brother will protect you.”
“Sis, don’t listen to him. Look at his avatar, he’s a fat guy. He can’t even protect himself, so how can he protect you? Why not look at me? I’m 1.8 meters tall, with an eight-pack abs, as strong as an ox. How about we get to know each other?”
…
Yan Lan didn’t participate in a single word. Calmly, she kept the chat window floating on her interface, exited the regional channel, and then moved on to study the 【Trading Center】.
The 【Trading Center】 included not only the game’s own system mall but also a player-to-player free trading zone.
She quickly browsed through it. The items in the system mall were extremely expensive, clearly beyond her budget.
Player trading was limited to within the same region, with a maximum of 10,000 listings. Payment could be made via balance or barter, but prices were restricted, probably to prevent people from exploiting game loopholes and using the trading center as a personal warehouse.
Casually, she took the black hair tie from her wrist and listed it in the trading center, setting the price at 1 balance unit.
DING!
A loud bell rang above the heads of everyone in Zone H-38.
【Congratulations, player Yan Lan! You have successfully listed the first item in this region. You have earned the title ‘Leading Merchant’ and been rewarded with one Silver Treasure Chest.】
Everyone was utterly confused. Following the link, they clicked their way to the trading center. Seeing that dark, grimy, frayed old hair tie, a single word involuntarily escaped their lips:
“Seriously?!”
The criticisms in the chat group came one after another.
“Who is this Yan Lan? She’s got some nerve, putting a hair tie up for sale!”
“Damn! She gets a reward just for that? A blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse, huh? I’m not having this!”
“Gotta admit, some people are just lucky~”
“I say you’re all just jealous. You can’t stand seeing someone else do well. The Trading Center is right there, anyone has the right to list something. While you were all panicking and begging for protection, she was already figuring out the game rules. You have zero self-awareness!”
“Who are you up there? Why are you defending her so hard? What’s your relationship?”
“Exactly! So what if we said a few things? Is it any of your business?”
Yan Lan took another look at the person who had spoken up for her. His name was Shi Yuanyuan. He had mentioned earlier that he had lost his helicopter.
“[2]“Shi Yuanyuan” sounds almost identical to the Chinese phrase for “far, far away” (遠遠, yuǎn yuǎn). This creates a humorous contrast: the character is literally named … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2111022_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2111022_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });Shi. Yuan. Yuan.”
She read it out syllable by syllable, then couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Not to make fun of him, but the name was just too unique.
Still, what he said was absolutely right. In a situation like this, everything needed to be done early. Rather than wasting breath arguing with a bunch of trolls, it was better to lie low and act quickly.
She then turned her attention to the initial vehicle the system had given her, the little handcart.
The moment she touched the handcart, a beam of light appeared, displaying the message: 【Current Level: Handcart LV1 | Upgrade Requirements: Glass ×10, Metal ×10.】
At the very beginning, the game had stated that supplies came from roadside treasure chests and supply stations. She happened to have one chest.
With a thought, the Silver Treasure Chest from her backpack slot appeared in her hands. Opening it, she found three cards inside, labeled 【Gasoline 30 units, Metal ×5, Glass ×5】. As soon as she took the cards out, they materialized into supplies.
Yan Lan stored all the supplies into her backpack slots, taking up three spaces. It seemed identical items could stack, with a maximum limit of 1,000 displayed.
Gasoline was useless for now, but upgraded vehicles would definitely need it, so she had to keep it for later.
She still needed 5 more Metal and 5 more Glass to upgrade. Looking at the empty Silver Treasure Chest lying on the cart, an idea came to her.
【Decompose? Yes / No.】
Sure enough, the chest could also be decomposed. One Silver Treasure Chest broke down into Wood ×3 and Metal ×2.
Next was the Novice Gift Pack, which she also opened.
【Mineral Water 500ML ×1, Purple Rice Bread ×1, BBQ Pork Bun ×1, Iron Rod ×1.】
The iron rod could be used for self-defense, so Yan Lan left it on the handcart. As for the three food items, since she didn’t have a bag to carry them, she put them all into her backpack slots. Together with the supplies from the treasure chest, she had now occupied 7 slots.
Although she was a bit hungry, considering her health was still at 85 and could last for a while, she decided against eating. She resolutely lifted the handcart and was about to move forward.
Ding.
Another sound rang in her ear, but it wasn’t the same deep, sexy male voice from before.
【Check-in System Activated! Please complete today’s check-in task!】
Oh my, here comes the [3]“golden finger” (金手指) refers to a special advantage or cheat-like ability given to the main character. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2111022_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2111022_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });golden finger!
She had no parents and had grown up in an orphanage. Every penny she earned as an adult she had donated back to society. Could it be that, seeing how pitiful she was and how much merit she had accumulated, the powers that be had given her a huge blessing?
Yan Lan gleefully looked at the task that popped up—【Make a peace sign at the sky and send it to the chat group.】
Just like clocking in for work, nothing difficult. She raised her hand toward the sky, extending two fingers apart.
A “click” sounded in the void, followed by the system voice.
【Check-in successful!】
【Items obtained: Mineral Water 500ml ×1, Purple Rice Bread ×1, BBQ Pork Bun ×1】
A flash appeared before her, and the three items floated in the air. Yan Lan stored them all into her backpack slots.
How lucky!
They happened to be exactly the same as the items from the Novice Gift Pack, so they didn’t take up new space. She still had 3 slots left.
She continued pushing the cart forward. Given how these games usually worked, the first player in her region to upgrade their vehicle would definitely get a reward. She had to step up her efforts.
As she walked, the light screen of the regional chat floated on the right side of her view. She glanced at it from time to time, diligently lurking like a fish underwater.
By now, everyone had officially entered the game state and started discussing the game content.
“What did everyone get from the Novice Gift Pack? I only got a bottle of mineral water.”
“An iron rod, a bottle of mineral water, and a meat bun.”
“I got a bit more than you, an extra roll of toilet paper, hahahaha!”
“Toilet paper is great! You’ll need it if you get diarrhea!”
“If you don’t have toilet paper, you can use grass paper. Or leaves will do in a pinch.”
“Come on, there isn’t a single hair within a hundred miles on this road. Where are you supposed to find leaves?”
“There aren’t any on the road, but have you tried going out to the savanna? There should be some dry grass.”
“Everyone, I’ve already tried. You can’t get out! It’s like there’s an invisible wall along the edge, trapping us on the road.”
“Really?”
A moment later, the same person replied.
“Damn! I tried it, and you really can’t get out! To hell with this.”
Yan Lan didn’t stop walking. She pushed the cart forward steadily without even breathing heavily.
The best course of action now was to upgrade as quickly as possible and get the reward chest. Let the others run into the invisible wall and do the experimenting.
References[+]