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Chapter 012 A Wonderful Misunderstanding

Xia Xinyan started to question for the umpteenth time where this defective item really came from.

But joking aside, she didn’t stop the main business: “So the designated task person is still Ling Mo?”

【That’s right】

“……Alright,” After cutting the meat and wiping the blood off the knife, Xia Xinyan looked up to see Ling Mo approaching with a pile of firewood and quietly said, “Last question, do you have a name?”

Summoning the game menu in the game was done by silently reciting the system in her mind, and without any distinction, it was easy to confuse the system with the game system. If this system had no name, then she’d just give it one.

Unexpectedly, the system provided an answer—

【This system’s code name is ‘Tianji’, the host can call this system code name.】

“Tianji?”

【Correction: Tianji】

“Okay, Tianji.”

【Suggestion: The host should review elementary school Chinese.】

Xia Xinyan ignored it.

Because Ling Mo was already coming over.

“Ah… You took so much, huh? You really don’t need this much for barbecued meat.” Xia Xinyan hurriedly stood up to help him carry it, looking like a little wife welcoming her husband home.

This made Ling Mo feel that this trip was worth it: “It’s nothing, the leftover firewood can be used for tonight’s fire…”

He smiled like a fool.

Xia Xinyan massaged his shoulders a bit, then pulled him to sit at the cave entrance: “Alright, you rest for a while, the barbecuing is up to me.”

“It’s fine, I’m not tired, let’s do it together.” Ling Mo tried to get up to help.

But Xia Xinyan forcibly pushed him back down: “Just sit tight. Let me show off my skills—I’ve roasted meat before.”

She was worried that this guy would burn the meat.

Cooking outdoors without any seasonings and relying solely on the meat’s taste was already a challenge. In such circumstances, the quality of the meat and cooking time were crucial. If it was overcooked… it would be really hard to swallow.

Not that it was completely inedible, but who wouldn’t want to eat something better?

However, this action appeared as a sign of virtue in Ling Mo’s eyes, causing his smile to brighten several degrees: “Alright, alright, then I’ll just… wait.”

The young lady personally roasting him meat…

It felt like a dream…

At this moment, the sky was nearly dark, and the bonfire in the dim forest became noticeable. If anyone passed by, they would inevitably be attracted to it.

Unfortunately, their luck wasn’t so good this time.

“Don’t move! Raise your hands!” A voice suddenly came from the shadows of a bush ahead, sounding quite unfriendly.

Turning around, two figures appeared in their line of sight.

By the light of the fire, Xia Xinyan recognized the faces of the two players.

Both held guns, and one had a large backpack slung on their back, looking like they had plenty of supplies.

“Well, well, well, living pretty well, huh?” The man who shouted not to move scanned the area and fixed his gaze on the meat Xia Xinyan was roasting, “You actually have food? Then we won’t stand on ceremony—if you don’t want to die, get lost. This is our turf now.”

Before Xia Xinyan could react, Ling Mo immediately stood in front of her, speaking in a deep voice, “We’re all players; there’s no need for this, right?”

“Why can’t we? This isn’t a cooperative game, brother.” The man laughed mockingly, “We’re all starving now; unless you can fill us up, maybe we’ll consider it.”

Before he finished speaking, the other man noticed the gun strapped to Ling Mo’s waist: “You guys have guns? Perfect, just leave the guns behind and scram.”

Saying that, both men pointed their guns at Ling Mo, clearly intent on not cooperating.

Ling Mo couldn’t help but take a couple of steps back with his hands raised, somewhat helpless: “No… come on, there’s no need for this, really—you guys don’t know that players can’t harm each other in this game, right? There are penalties.”

That man was about to retort, “I hear you…”

Bang—!!

Suddenly, two gunshots rang out in the forest, causing the two men to kneel and howl in agony, their unfinished words turning into broken curses.

Ling Mo was momentarily stunned.

Then, before he could react, the two men suddenly turned into light and vanished from sight, leaving their guns and supplies behind.

Ling Mo instinctively turned around and found Xia Xinyan crouched behind the bonfire, still in a shooting pose, the barrel of her large-caliber revolver still smoking.

“Impressive courage,” Once the two men disappeared, Xia Xinyan put away her gun, stood up, and patted her clothes, smiling, “Now I believe you’ll stand in front of me; great job, big hero.”

Although her way of dealing with it was foolish… it did manage to attract attention; otherwise, she couldn’t guarantee she’d be able to retaliate in time.

Of course, dealing with those two wasn’t a hassle for her, but she didn’t refuse such a simpler option.

Ling Mo was a bit dazed: “Ah… didn’t you say that harming players would incur penalties?”

“Yeah,” Xia Xinyan nodded, continuing to tend to the barbecue, “But penalties depend on the situation; this is all explained in the game rules—too bad many players seem to dislike reading the complete rules.”

She herself used to be one of those who said this.

It was just a habit formed from playing games in the past; regardless of the game, it was always about playing first, figuring out the rules while playing, and only going back to check the explanations for mechanisms that were hard to understand. For simpler games, a few rounds would generally make the gameplay clear.

But this game was different.

The various game rules are quite complex, and where there are restrictions, there will be no less of them. Understanding it fully takes considerable effort. But if one understands it thoroughly, there are many aspects of the game that players can leverage.

For instance, friendly fire judgments fall into many categories—first, based on subjective awareness, it can be divided into active harm and passive defense. The former is easier to understand; it’s basically fighting for no reason. The punishment for this is the most severe, with the system deducting the injury-causing player’s dungeon rewards based on the damage caused. If it results in another player’s death, there’s also a red name mechanism.

Killing a player will turn you red for that instance; a red-name player is not protected by the rules, and other players can attack them, successfully killing them will also earn game point rewards. Red-name players may defend within the scope of passive defense, but continuing to kill players will stack punishment for three red-name instances, and their rewards will drop to zero.

As for passive defense, it’s even more detailed. Essentially, when a player suffers substantial harm from another player, such as robbery, threats, or active harm, or if under certain circumstances they perceive other players as a threat, they can retaliate to a certain extent, with the scope also being subdivided; but as long as they don’t kill, it’s fine.

However, even retaliation comes with punishment, just not as high, falling within an acceptable range.

Then there’s a broad category of special judgments—unintentional harm. This occurs when a player is injured without any intention to actively harm; this also varies based on different situations.

Though the detailed rules seem complex, as long as one can figure out the nuances, utilizing these rules to place oneself in an advantageous position is quite easy.

For instance, right now, they just received a double delivery for free.

Actually, she had aimed for their legs; the degree of damage would definitely hurt, but it wouldn’t be instantly fatal.

The reason the two disappeared so quickly was that they voluntarily exited the game.

…That’s right, during dungeons, players can choose to exit; after all, at this stage, it’s still a normal game. And experiencing 70% pain from getting a leg shot definitely wouldn’t feel pleasant. Instead of sitting there waiting to die, it’s better to just log out.

It was a win-win situation—Xia Xinyan and Ling Mo got a wave of supplies, and those two players could log out early to enjoy the wonders of the real world. Quite nice.

 

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