◎ Hail Mini-Monsters ◎
On Game Day 7, with plenty of charcoal and food, the day passed peacefully.
On Game Day 8, the temperature dropped to minus 25 degrees Celsius, and the snow on the road had piled up past her shins.
As usual, Yan Lan spent the morning trading supplies and drove out in the afternoon to search for treasure chests.
To prevent snow blindness, she put on her sunglasses. She also installed snow chains on the RV’s tires. The chains were heavy and clunky, and the tires made a crunching, squeaking sound as they rolled over the snow. But eager to level up as soon as possible, she had no choice but to drive carefully.
Just as she spotted a treasure chest and was about to get out and pick it up, a message alert sounded.
Acting on instinct, she opened the message. It was from Ji Zhou.
“Danger is coming. Stay inside your vehicle at all costs. Lock your doors and windows, secure your supplies, and be ready to fight at any moment!”
Yan Lan paused mid-motion, her heart suddenly pounding.
Danger? Danger was coming!
Having spent some time with him, she knew he was steady and reliable and would never joke about something like this.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Yan Lan immediately forwarded the message to the group chat. At the same time, she moved the flowerpots and water collector from the balcony indoors and locked all the doors and windows.
Although she had considerable influence in Zone H-38, she had no concrete evidence, so many people were initially skeptical.
“Big shot, are you sure you’re not mistaken? Everything looks fine outside~”
“Yeah, it’s just snowing quietly out there. Nothing unusual.”
“Do you have proof? If you show some proof, maybe everyone will believe you.”
Yan Lan: “Sorry, I don’t have proof, but the source of this information is reliable. Please trust me.”
“What a joke! You expect everyone to believe you just because you say so? Do you think we’re all fools?”
Jiang Tiantian, as if on cue, jumped in again: “Exactly! Don’t scare everyone with your alarmist talk. We have very few supplies, we have to get out and look for treasure chests. Not everyone is like you, sitting around doing nothing while supplies just come to you.”
She had been quietly lying low, but the moment she heard the special “croak croak croak” notification sound, she abruptly sat up. Unable to contain her excitement, she eagerly opened the game panel. After reading the messages, she began waving her arms and dancing excitedly.
Haha! She had finally found a bone to pick!
Just as she was thinking about how to fan the flames even higher, Pothead Chen Shengsheng sent her a message.
That guy was so annoying, always bothering her at the most critical moments.
Chen Shengsheng had been keeping an eye on Jiang Tiantian’s activity. He always felt that Tiantian and Yan Lan shared an uncanny tacit agreement. Every time Yan Lan posted something, Tiantian would immediately jump in.
Puzzled, he sent Tiantian a private message: “Tiantian, did you use that item card I gave you last time? Who did you set as your special follow?”
Jiang Tiantian replied quickly: “I used it, of course it’s you~”
Chen Shengsheng felt a warmth in his heart, but still had doubts about the tacit agreement between the two: “Are you sure you didn’t click the wrong one? You didn’t accidentally set it to Yan Lan, did you?”
Jiang Tiantian replied confidently: “How is that possible! You know I hate her the most. Why would I set her as my special follow?”
She continued to reassure him: “Don’t worry, I set it to you. It’s just that you never talk or post updates, so you don’t see your own messages.”
Chen Shengsheng thought to himself that this was true. He rarely spoke in the group and had never posted on the world channel, so it made sense that Tiantian couldn’t see his messages.
Feeling ashamed of his suspicions, he took the initiative to apologize: “I’m sorry, Tiantian. It’s just that I care about you so much.”
Jiang Tiantian: “It’s okay. Don’t we share everything? By the way, ShengSheng, did you manage to trade for any durians? I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been craving durians so badly. Whenever I think of durians, I remember the days I spent with my mom. Sigh, just thinking about her makes me want to cry.”
Chen Shengsheng said with concern: “Don’t be sad, Tiantian. I’ll produce a batch of supplies right away. I’ll definitely help you trade for a whole RV full of durian flesh.”
“Mm, thank you, ShengSheng. If possible, get a few more pods. I’m afraid one pod won’t be enough.”
“Don’t worry.”
Chen Shengsheng had already started treating Jiang Tiantian like his girlfriend in his heart. Since his “girlfriend” wanted to eat something, he had to get it for her no matter what.
Jiang Tiantian quickly brushed off Chen Shengsheng and returned to the main group chat to continue the fight. But to her surprise, the tide had turned. That good-looking young guy Shi Yuanyuan had actually jumped in to help Yan Lan, how infuriating!
So that was why she could never seem to win him over. He had already hooked up with Yan Lan from the start.
Why her? She genuinely believed she was no less attractive than Yan Lan, and she had a much nicer personality too. In real life, all the guys around her liked girls like her.
Her chest heaved with anger. Fuming with rage, she threw Yan Lan’s warning to the back of her mind and casually opened her car window.
That was when the danger suddenly struck.
A loud boom echoed from the sky, and hailstones came crashing down. As hard as cobblestones, they pelted the vehicles like bullets, the sounds of shattering and impact alarming and fierce.
Amidst the hail crystals, clawed mini-monsters scurried about, searching for targets, ramming into any car they encountered and biting anyone they saw.
Caught off guard, Jiang Tiantian was bitten. She let out a shriek and began to panic.
【Ding! Under hailstorm attack. Players, prepare for battle!】
Yan Lan had already armed herself, her expression tense as she surveyed her surroundings.
The car awning she had deployed earlier protected the vehicle from the hail, but it didn’t last long before a loud tearing sound filled the air. With the awning ripped away, the hail slammed directly onto the roof and windows. The roof became riddled with dents, and cracks slowly began to spread across the glass.
In addition to the hail, the ice mini-monsters were mixed in. Like mischievous brats, they let out strange shrieks and deliberately slammed into the vehicle.
The RV swayed violently from side to side. Standing inside, Yan Lan struggled to keep her balance as she watched helplessly while a section of the wall was dented inward.
Hearing the chaotic noises outside, her expression darkened. She couldn’t let this continue.
“Xueqiu, you take the front. I’ll take the back,” Yan Lan ordered coldly.
“Jii!”
Xueqiu acknowledged the command and immediately charged forward with its paws outstretched. It opened a window and began attacking the hail mini-monsters outside.
Just as a hail mini-monster tried to squeeze in through the window, Xueqiu stretched out a paw and kicked it hard.
With a shriek of pain, the mini-monster was knocked to the ground. Its body split apart and dissolved into a puddle of melted snow.
Yan Lan had already suspected Xueqiu’s strength. Seeing it take down one enemy after another with ease, she felt reassured and returned to the balcony.
The balcony was separated from the interior by a glass door. The area was large, so it had naturally attracted the largest number of mini-monsters.
She raised her Frost Moon Bow, pushed the glass door half open, and began her counterattack.
Using Skill 1, the mini-monsters clustered together were stunned. She then nocked an arrow and shot it out like lightning. Skill 2, Pierce, activated, and the swarm monsters exploded, shattering into tiny ice fragments.
【Defeated hail mini-monster +1, obtained balance +10.】
【Defeated hail mini-monster +10, obtained balance +100.】
Since there was a balance reward, there was no reason to hold back.
After the first wave of mini-monsters was shot off the balcony, Yan Lan stepped forward and held her ground at the threshold between the balcony and the interior.
She stood firm, calm and composed, holding the bow with both hands and an arrow ready between her fingers. Her gaze fixed on the battle ahead. Whenever a mini-monster approached, the fully drawn bowstring would release in an instant.
The arrows sliced through the air with a sharp whistle, landing precisely into the monsters’ bodies. Even when her arrows carried no skill effects, she still held the line without letting a single enemy through.
The battle was fierce. One wave of hail mini-monsters was shot down, only to be replaced by another. They were like bloodthirsty creatures that would not stop until they had tasted their enemy’s flesh.
Yan Lan threw herself into the fight completely. For nearly two hours, she held her ground, not giving the mini-monsters the slightest opening.
When she ran out of arrows, she switched to an iron shovel and wooden clubs, refusing to let any mini-monster get close.
But gradually, her stamina began to wane, and her arms grew sore and swollen.
If even she, with her enhanced physique, was struggling, ordinary players must be having an even harder time. Just as she was considering retreating back inside, the hail suddenly stopped. The mini-monsters flew back into the sky.
The hailstorm attack was over.
Yan Lan couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter. She had kindly warned everyone, but no one had taken it seriously. Now they were suffering the consequences.
After being bitten, Jiang Tiantian had shrunk back into her car and quickly rolled up the window. Facing the relentless attacks of the hail mini-monsters, she was absolutely terrified and dared only to cower inside her vehicle, too scared to move.
After two hours of anxious waiting, the mini-monsters finally dispersed. But her SUV had been battered into pieces, even the tires were shattered.
Even more critical was the wound on her hand. She had wrapped it with several strips of cloth, but the bleeding wouldn’t stop. Her body was now under a negative effect, she needed a styptic.
At this critical moment, Jin Buwei insisted on following proper procedures. Goddammit, she was on the verge of death, and he was still talking about procedures? So rigid!
And that loser Chen Shengsheng, normally he was too afraid to even talk to people. Now that she was dying, he still wouldn’t step up and say anything!
What a disaster. Meeting all these useless men.
With no other choice, she had to beg for help in the group chat and on the forums.