Chapter 188: Deserted Island Survival 12

Moira Lynch was startled by the voice. ’My Antifreeze Attribute is already maxed out, so how could my stamina be low?’

[Abnormality detected under the sole of your left foot.]

At the notification, Moira Lynch quickly lifted her left foot. A crescent-shaped blue stone had somehow appeared beneath it.

[Crescent Blue Stone: Appears unremarkable, just an ordinary blue stone. However, once in contact with a living being, it will continuously absorb body heat, causing death by hypothermia. The creature having its heat absorbed will not notice anything unusual during this process.]

As she bent down to pick up the stone, Moira Lynch felt no discomfort, but the Patience alarm sounded in her ear again.

’I’ll take it with me for now.’

After stowing the Crescent Blue Stone in her storage space, she checked the time. It was almost noon. Moira Lynch decided to find a spot to have lunch.

She also took out some of the Full Vines she’d collected earlier to sun-dry, planning to make some dough drop soup for dinner.

’Should I steam some buns, too?’

Just as Moira Lynch was deliberating, she remembered she didn’t have any yeast. She had no choice but to give up on the idea of steamed buns.

After lunch, she pressed on. The surrounding weeds grew thicker and more overgrown, making each step a struggle.

Especially after her Insect Attracting Grass wore off, little bugs started to swarm her.

She took out the Insect Repellent Potion that had appeared in her daily refresh this morning. She opened it and was about to drink when her eyes caught the instructions on the bottle. Her hand froze.

’So it’s for external use?’

She had almost drunk the Insect Repellent Potion.

She spread the Insect Repellent Potion evenly over her skin. The effect was immediate. The little bugs that had been swarming her vanished instantly, and the buzzing in her ears finally quieted.

The bug problem was solved, but the weeds remained.

HISS—

A stiff blade of grass whipped across Moira Lynch’s face.

She touched the spot. Fortunately, her face mask took the brunt of it. She was dressed in thick enough layers that her skin wasn’t broken.

She came across a large patch of ground soaked in blood. No wonder the weeds here were so overgrown.

Holding the large machete her Universal Gloves had produced, she hacked down all the weeds blocking her path.

She searched the blood-soaked area for a while but found nothing of value, much to her disappointment.

Just as she finally struggled out of the overgrown weeds, she suddenly heard voices from not far ahead.

Moira Lynch instinctively activated her Illusion Cloak’s Stealth Mode, then found a tree with dense foliage, leaped up, and concealed herself among the leaves.

In the distance, six players were heading her way—two women and four men.

The two women were being protected in the center of the group.

Each of them held a stick, which they used to probe the tall grass as they walked, trying to flush out anything that might be hiding.

’Seeing their effortless coordination and how they weren’t on guard with each other, they must be people who already knew each other in the real world.’

’For six people who know each other to enter the same game at the same time... the odds of that are incredibly small.’

’And for them to be able to group up right at the start...’

Moira Lynch guessed they must have used some kind of team-up item.

Such an item was sold in the System Mall for ten Gold Coins and had five uses.

’One leader, five members. Exactly six people.’

The group seemed to be out hunting. They worked together seamlessly, their roles clearly defined. In no time, they had caught three fat rabbits and a wild, green-feathered pheasant.

"Tch. Today’s haul isn’t bad. It’s just a shame about those traps we set. Didn’t catch a single thing. A total waste of time."

Moira Lynch’s gaze fell on the man who had spoken.

’Traps? Where?’

’Since these people are here, their traps must be nearby.’

Moira Lynch extended her spiritual power and located two traps a few hundred meters away. They were pit traps, filled with sharp bamboo spikes. Anyone who fell in would be instantly skewered like a pincushion.

Not only that, but she also found several bear traps. Getting caught in one of those would be enough to snap a bone.

’Pit traps, bamboo spikes, and bear traps... This group is pretty vicious!’

"Boss, you gotta be patient," another person said. "We can try moving the traps to a different spot later. We might get lucky. Besides, one of the bear traps was triggered, right? There was still blood on it. That proves our traps work."

Then another person spoke up, "It’s weird, though. It’s the fourth day, and we haven’t run into a single other player."

A female player chimed in, "I know, right? We were always teleported together before. This time they scattered us. This deserted island is huge, how are we supposed to find anyone?"

Another player offered some reassurance. "What’s the rush? This game lasts for thirty days. We’ll run into people eventually. Besides, we’ve already gotten the lay of the land here. If anyone comes this way, they won’t escape our grasp."

Listening from her hiding spot in the tree, Moira Lynch heard them openly discussing their plans to target other players. ’They’re clearly treating other people as walking supply caches.’

’After all, you can only bring a limited number of items into the game. To have a shot at winning, players would definitely be carrying their best gear.’

’What rotten luck. Yesterday, I ran into three people who were after my items. Today, the universe decided to double it and send me six.’

Just as Moira Lynch decided to wait for them to leave before heading back the way she came, the group, for some reason, started processing their catch right then and there.

With no water, they could only do a rough job of it, discarding the pelts and other inedible parts.

The processed carcasses were a bloody mess, and a faint smell of blood began to fill the air.

Seeing this, Moira Lynch rolled her eyes in exasperation. ’This must be what they call being bold and skilled. Aren’t they afraid the scent of blood will attract other predators?’

Moira Lynch glanced back in the direction she’d come from. She was lucky she’d stopped hacking through the weeds just as she was about to break free of them. Otherwise, the group would have definitely noticed the cut path and known someone had been there.

Having finally finished with their prey, the group prepared to leave.

But just then, a heavy breathing sound suddenly cut through the air.

A Black Wolf padded out from the tall grass, its sharp eyes fixed on the six people in the distance.

The group, who had been about to leave, instantly snapped to alert.

One of them grumbled, "I told you we shouldn’t have processed the kill here. You just wouldn’t listen."

"I was just trying to save some time! Besides, it was fine all the other times."