Chapter 79: Huaxia Base

Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Huaxia Base

The middle-aged man spoke with confidence. "It wasn’t too difficult. After entering the game, the military used the system to quickly assemble a group of soldiers. Then, using the system’s transport page, they began merging islands.

They gathered materials to build ships. As their resources grew, they used their positioning and the ships to eventually group everyone together."

Jiang Yuxing asked, "Weren’t you worried that when an island disappeared, its player would die?"

"Of course we were afraid. That’s why we left a piece of each island behind, just to give them a foothold.

Luckily, our gamble paid off. Survival in the game is tough, but it turns out that as long as you arrive at an island by boat, the system allows other players to land on it."

More people meant a larger workforce. A larger workforce meant more resources, which in turn lowered the death rate when facing danger.

They had lost many people, too. The island and the resources they had today were paid for with flesh and blood.

Shi Zhile asked, "What about dungeons? The game forces players into them. Is it done on an island-by-island basis, or does it just pull in players regardless of their island?"

"When a dungeon opens, it only pulls in players. The number of islands doesn’t seem to have any particular relevance to the game. Of course, that’s just what we’ve concluded for now. Who knows what the future holds.

It’s getting late, you two. Add me as a friend, and I’ll send you our island’s location. You can come visit later if you get the chance."

Shi Zhile accepted and added him as a friend.

Her character panel showed the middle-aged man’s name: Wei Zhan, age forty-nine.

After they became friends, he immediately sent his location.

"The official government island is Huaxia Base. In our region, there are two islands currently affiliated with the government. One is Huaxia Base, whose location I just sent you. The other is called Jiuzhou, but it’s too far from us."

Shi Zhile took note. Without hesitating, she sent him one hundred units of corn.

Wei Zhan was taken aback. "This is..."

Shi Zhile said, "Payment for the information. If you hadn’t told us this, Uncle Wei, I might never have heard any news about our country."

’Ever since entering this game, my only motivation has been to survive.’

’But now, things were different. Knowing the nation still existed gave me hope, and hope gave me a new motivation.’

’My perspective has been too narrow. I always knew human potential was limitless, but I never imagined someone could lead humanity to rebuild our home within a game world.’

’I admit I’m selfish. Right now, I just want to survive.’

’I don’t want to be a saint who saves the world, but I don’t want to be a heartless machine, either.’

’Humans are social creatures. Stay alone too long, and you become a zombie. I can shut myself off from the world, but I don’t want to find the world gone when I finally decide I want to reconnect.’

Wei Zhan thought for a moment before finally accepting the supplies.

He gave a slight nod, then stood ramrod straight and saluted. "Thank you! We’ll part ways here, you two."

Behind him, the dozens of people in two rows saluted in perfect unison.

Shi Zhile returned the salute. "Farewell!"

The two ships sailed past one another. As the national flag receded into the distance, its splash of red remained dazzling against the vast sea. The water glittered, stretching to the horizon, much like the path before her—a road she had not taken, but one that others were now walking.

’The thought of following them arose in Shi Zhile’s mind. If she joined them, her Planting Space and Breeding Space could be used to their full potential.’

Jiang Yuxing looked at the silent Shi Zhile. In her expression, he thought he could see a glimpse of the woman who had sought to take Lu Ting down with her after Earth was destroyed.

He fell silent as well. ’Maybe I should stop her from meeting them. At least then, she would stay here.’

’But I’m a soldier, too. I have no right to stop her.’

’That is her country, her home. She has the right to choose to stand with them, through life and death.’

’Maybe nothing would change if it all happened again, but what if it did?’

’The contingency plans I’ve made should be able to save at least some of humanity, right?’

Shi Zhile took out her fishing rod and sat down cross-legged. "I want to go to Huaxia Base," she said. "I want to go home and see."

’It’s home!’

Jiang Yuxing nodded. "Alright. But sailing is too dangerous right now. Let’s wait. We can wait for the natural disasters to settle down, then use a Summon Order after the next dungeon opens to go take a look.

Just one thing: when you get there, don’t be so quick to offer to cook. You don’t want people eating your food only to have it come right back out."

Shi Zhile turned her head and stared at him, her face devoid of expression. "What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying my cooking is poison?"

Jiang Yuxing said, "Not poison, no. Just that it’s terrible."

’Besides instant noodles and hot pot, he could never forget that bowl of awful chicken and that disastrous, mushy egg pancake.’

Shi Zhile’s fists clenched. "From now on, you can forget about ever eating my cooking again."

Jiang Yuxing: "..."

The float bobbed. Shi Zhile immediately yanked her rod, and a glittering golden treasure chest flew out of the water, shining even brighter than the sun.

She opened the treasure chest.

[Military Greatcoat ×2, Rain Boots ×2]

Shi Zhile gave him a share. "My luck’s been so much better since you stopped fishing. From now on, let’s stay as far apart as possible when we fish. You take the stern, I’ll take the bow."

Jiang Yuxing asked, "Is there any chance your luck has nothing to do with me?"

"Not a chance."

She paused, then asked tentatively, "Wang Dacheng has the Sweeping Star System. Your luck is so good... do you have some kind of good luck system?"

Jiang Yuxing lay back on his deck chair. "Take a guess!"

Shi Zhile said, "You do!"

Jiang Yuxing let out a dramatic sigh. "Ah, Zhile, is it really so hard to admit that I’m just amazing? Why must you chalk my greatness up to some system?"

He sat up and leaned in close. "Actually, I’m a pay-to-win player. Believe it or not?"

Shi Zhile: "...Do you think I should?"

"See? I tell you the truth, and you don’t believe me."

"I believe you. Show me where to spend the money, and I’ll drop some cash too."

Jiang Yuxing lay back down. "You don’t have any money, so you can’t. Besides, it’s very, very expensive. It costs energy!"

The moment "energy" was mentioned, the system, which had been playing dead, sprang back to life.

[He’s lying to you! I’ve scanned the island game. While it has the occasional bug, I’ve detected no energy expenditure from him.]

’But Jiang Yuxing didn’t look like he was lying.’

’The system is obsessed with energy, and I’m obsessed with supplies. We’d both lie for the things we love.’

Shi Zhile thought to herself, ’You have energy. So, if—and this is just a hypothetical—if I used your energy to "pay-to-win" and upgrade the shelter, you could then get energy back from the upgraded shelter...’

[System entering hibernation mode!]

Shi Zhile: "..."

As the sun set, Shi Zhile returned to the shelter, her haul for the day being a massive pile of junk.

Back inside the shelter, the warmth finally allowed them to properly relax and catch their breath.

After peeling off layer after layer of clothing, Shi Zhile sat by the stove in her temperature-regulating suit, adding wood to the fire.

Jiang Yuxing was cleaning fish and prepping vegetables. He casually handed her a bowl and some flour. "Whip up a batch of those dough drops you’re so good at. No scallions, no egg, and no salt. I’ll make you fish soup with dough drops for dinner."

Shi Zhile took them. "I still have a lot of beef congee left from lunch."

’She’d made a huge pot, enough for tonight and tomorrow morning.’

Jiang Yuxing: "Hmm... save it for breakfast tomorrow."