54

On the highway, a flashy sports car roared down the lane. Youche steered with one hand and wore a pair of sunglasses he'd found by the roadside—feeling like the coolest guy out there.

Chu Yian sat in the passenger seat, hunched over a map. They were between two provinces and a few cities from X City. Using phone navigation, she'd outlined three routes:

Fastest: 2 days 15 hours non-stop

Slowest: 3 days 6 hours

Past games showed faster progress often meant more points, so they chose the fastest route.

Youche drove all afternoon, passing through three cities. The roads were nearly empty, and anyone who tried to stop them was quickly left behind by flooring the accelerator. All went well… until 48 hours later.

Youche's vehicle ability refreshed—and they got a brand-new tractor.

Chu Yian circled it several times before admitting: "Yep, that's a tractor."

"We've gotta gamble sometimes," Youche shrugged. It was still a vehicle, after all—if it moved, it moved.

She climbed in. Using self-taught skills, in this 120 km/h zone, she dared to press… but nothing happened. The tractor was loud but slow—barely the speed of an electric scooter. That extreme rear-boost of the Aston Martin? Forget about it.

She patted the wheel and said, "At this speed, we'll never reach X City today."

He replied awkwardly, "…Slowing down isn't always bad, life should slow too."

She tilted her head and replied sincerely: "Then why not hop out and walk?"

—How does someone with such a harmless face speak so coldly?

Youche forced a laugh, "Hey, I was joking."

If his skill were strong enough, he'd haul the tractor all the way. He'd ended the previous games with zero points, and this time? This was his best shot at winning. Who doesn't want to survive?

But then disaster struck. Smoke started billowing from the tractor's hood.

Black smoke. Chu Yian's face turned as grey as the smog. They had to stop, pop the hood, and check the engine.

"Can you fix this?" she asked, screwdriver in hand.

Youche blinked innocently. "I thought you could!"

Now their journey would be much, much slower—maybe impossible to reach X City at all.

Day 13, the road through rain. They'd trudged three hours, soaked to the bone, chilled to the spine. Hair plastered to their faces, lips pale—they looked like real refugees now.

Entering the city, shadows watched them: from windows, shops, even behind parked cars. Their ragged appearance screamed "targets."

But no one bothered them—they looked too poor to rob. Hunger had driven people to eat moldy food; robbing them wouldn't even be worth the risk.

Everything was looted, shops ransacked. They found a clothing store, men took some dry replacements and dried their hair.

Still cold.

They hopped to stay warm, finally—

"What now?" Youche asked once warmed.

"First find a safe place to rest," Chu Yian answered. "At night, we look for a drivable vehicle."

They entered a deserted small office building—guaranteed no one would pick it for shelter. Aside from two corpses, it was empty. They cleared a space, used scrap paper to start a fire.

Chu Yian opened her treasure chest and pulled out an iron tin with compressed biscuits and two instant noodles.

She handed them to Youche:

"You cook here. I need a minute."

With a slam, she locked herself in the bathroom—not to answer nature's call, but to use her "ex nihilo" ability on the chest.

She whispered a brief prayer before reaching in:

[A sweet and sour apple] appeared.

Note: "will be returned when this round ends."

Item Description :"Almost forgot you'd soon be out of biscuits—probably can't even plant the seeds."

Hmm—feels personally insulting, but she didn't care. As long as she got something useful, she'd call it "grandpa."

They hadn't eaten fruit since Day 2—nearly two weeks. And now?

Apples rot in a day. This couldn't be more precious.

She stepped out with the apple.

Youche nearly jumped with excitement when he saw it. Eyes wide, mouth watering:

"Chu… Chu Elder, where did you get that?! That's awesome!"