Su Chen glanced around his surroundings. The area was covered in dense forest, the air crisp and fresh. All in all, it seemed like a pretty livable place.
It was getting late, so he decided to camp by the roadside for the night. There wasn't much of a choice anyway—tomorrow marked the start of the second round of the game, and who knew what unexpected twists might be waiting?
After cooking a simple dinner and making do with whatever was on hand, Su Chen ate without much fuss. These days, he wasn't picky about food. As long as it filled his stomach, he was satisfied. Maybe he'd grown used to fine delicacies and lost interest in them.
Compared to other survivors, he was probably hundreds of times more fortunate.
Night had already fallen while he was eating, and the game had entered nighttime mode. Strangely enough, tonight was unusually quiet. Aside from the eerie lullaby at the beginning, there had been no other disturbances.
That creepy lullaby didn't even seem all that scary anymore. If anything, it was starting to sound kind of ridiculous. The only problem was how loud it was—so loud it pierced through every survivor's ears, making it nearly impossible to sleep whenever it played.
Fortunately, it didn't last very long.
As the night wore on, the eerie lullaby gradually faded away. By midnight, it was nearly silent.
Finally, Su Chen managed to get a decent night's sleep.
When he woke up, Er Bao was curled up in his arms like always, as if nothing unusual had happened.
It seemed the second round of the game wasn't as terrifying as he'd imagined. The nights, at least, were still peaceful.
That was a thoughtful touch—players needed proper rest to face the battles ahead.
Today marked the first day of the second round. Su Chen didn't dare take it lightly. He needed to stay sharp and fully focused for whatever the day might throw at him.
He rushed through breakfast and stuffed the Uzi submachine gun into his backpack. Carrying a weapon made him feel a lot more confident—much better than wandering around unarmed and scavenging for food.
RUMBLE—
The drones had already started their airdrops, and all 3.5 billion human players around the globe were on high alert. No one knew how many supply drops there would be.
One thing was clear: the early bird gets the worm.
Su Chen set out early, scanning the skies—but saw nothing.
Apparently, the airdrops were far fewer than expected. If there was even one drop per region, that would already be considered generous.
With no drones in sight, Su Chen began scouring the area. He combed through a full kilometer radius but found no sign of a supply drop.
His hair was soaked with sweat, his breathing ragged. After all that exertion, his mind was nearly blank.
One word summed it up: Exhausted.
He leaned against a tree, trying to catch his breath. He had no strength left to keep searching.
So-called "survivor benefits" were clearly not so easy to come by. It was probably a trap from the start.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Su Chen muttered, "I should've known it was too good to be true."
An hour of searching, and he hadn't even seen the shadow of a supply crate. Maybe it all came down to probability—one in a hundred, maybe even one in a thousand.
"Ah! What the hell?!"
Just as Su Chen had finally let his guard down beside the tree, a grotesque creature suddenly lunged out from the shadows.
Startled, he stumbled back several steps.
There'd been no sign of anything unusual nearby—how had this thing snuck up on him? Had it been hiding in the trees the whole time?
Now it was right in front of him—less than half a meter away.
It was a lizard, about the same size as Su Chen, its entire body a mottled green. It squinted at him, its twisted face contorted into a snarl.
"Holy shit! Holy shit!"
Su Chen scrambled to his feet and bolted. It wasn't until nearly a full minute later that he dared to look back and get a good look at the creature.
The lizard was hot on his heels. No surprise—a two-legged human could never outrun a four-legged beast.
His heart felt like it was about to explode. He was this close to having a heart attack.
But what was most disturbing was that the lizard only had one eye, smack in the middle of its face.
A one-eyed lizard.
Apparently, the second round was going to be a whole lot more brutal. He was being hunted by a massive one-eyed lizard—in broad daylight, no less!
"Ka-ka-ka!"
The creature let out a series of harsh, guttural cries, almost like it was taunting him.
"This is seriously messed up…"
It wasn't the first monster Su Chen had encountered, but all the others had come at night. He could usually stay alert during those encounters. This time, though, he'd been caught completely off guard.
And this wasn't just any monster—this thing was way stronger than anything from the first round.
There was no use running. He couldn't escape now.
Only one option left: Fight.
Fully armed, Su Chen steadied himself. He quickly pulled the Uzi from his backpack. This gun wasn't just for show—it packed serious firepower.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three shots fired directly at the lizard's head, piercing its skull.
The Uzi's power was undeniable. It hurt the enemy, but the recoil was so intense it almost injured the user too.
The kickback was brutal. Every time he pulled the trigger, it felt like his body was being punished.
The one-eyed lizard let out sharp, rasping cries. Every shot made it scream.
Three shots landed, and while the damage was real, the creature could still move.
Su Chen could feel how much force he'd unleashed. After all, in battle royale games, this gun was a top-tier choice—though notorious for its recoil.
Clearly, this one-eyed lizard had some serious armor. It wasn't going down easy.
Enraged by the pain, the creature became even more aggressive, roaring wildly at Su Chen.
"Awooo!!"
But Su Chen wasn't about to back down. A few bullets might not kill it—but what about hundreds?
"I'll be damned if I let you beat me."
He aimed straight at the creature's head again.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang—
In a matter of seconds, he unloaded hundreds of rounds.
The recoil made it hard to keep his aim steady, and a chunk of bullets missed. But it didn't matter.
After getting shredded by hundreds of rounds, the one-eyed lizard finally collapsed. It rolled on the ground, wailing like a ghost before vanishing from sight.
[Acquired: One-Eyed Lizard Meat]
[Acquired: One-Eyed Lizard Hide]
[Acquired: One-Eyed Lizard Blood]
The stench hit Su Chen like a brick wall, making him instinctively wave a hand in front of his nose.
"God, that smell is awful."
"This thing's actually edible? That's horrifying."
Looking at the pile of loot the lizard left behind, Su Chen couldn't help but think of that nasty green flesh.
It definitely left some psychological trauma. But when he checked the detailed description, he was surprised—turns out the one-eyed lizard was made almost entirely of meat.
It was no less valuable than tiger meat.
_____
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