Chapter 38: Now the True Beginning

Lin Mu glanced at Zhao Mingwei; this man certainly had too many schemes running through his mind. The woman, on the other hand—though she frequented the restroom a bit much—had far fewer thoughts. Zhao Mingwei, feeling Lin Mu’s gaze upon him, swallowed hard. This foolish woman was going to be the death of him!

“Boss, I’ve got nothing on my mind now. There’s water and food here; what could I possibly be thinking about?” Zhao Mingwei forced a smile, though it looked far worse than it once did. He used to be rather good-looking, but now, thanks to his face swelling up like a pig’s head, there was nothing to be done.

“It better stay that way. Otherwise… hmph.” Lin Mu’s warning was clear.

Zhao Mingwei nodded eagerly; as long as he could stay alive, he’d agree to anything. Jiang Ying pursed her lips, disappointed she hadn’t managed to set him up.

Beside them, Gu Wanqing quietly asked, “Did this person offend you?”

“We used to work at the same company,” Jiang Ying complained in hushed tones. “He’s just a sycophant—good for nothing except flattering the higher-ups. That’s how he got into management…”

Up front, Lin Mu shook his head as he ate. He didn’t like bootlickers either, but what could one do? Bosses liked them. He glanced at the thermometer—today was the sixth day of the Bitter Winter, and the temperature had already dropped to minus 80 degrees Celsius. Just one more day, and it would finally be over. What would come next? He looked at his blueprints—could it be extreme heat? Not impossible.

…

The next day marked the seventh and final day of the Wrath of Winter. In these last two days, the four people in the back had been living in luxury—plenty of food and water, no need to search for supply crates, no dangers lurking. By now, even if they were allowed to leave, none of them would want to.

Lin Mu sat in his chair, checking the temperature as soon as he woke. Outside: minus 100 degrees. Inside: a comfortable 24 degrees above zero. He clicked his tongue in disbelief—this temperature was downright absurd. He opened the car door, and an icy wind blasted in, immediately dropping the room’s temperature. The four behind him stared in horror—was he trying to freeze them to death? After all, they weren’t even wearing thick clothes inside; everything was set aside for comfort.

Lin Mu didn’t keep the door open long, less than a minute before shutting it. The cabin temperature instantly plunged to minus 20 degrees.

The four huddled together, shivering, while Jiang Ying crawled into her clothes as best she could, though with her hands tied behind her back, she couldn’t properly dress no matter how much she wanted to.

Gradually, the temperature inside rose again, returning to normal after a short while. Lin Mu opened the trading market—over twenty sets of his materials had sold. Clearly, others had realized that it was better to sell abandoned vehicles than keep them. Lin Mu reaped a hefty stockpile of new materials as a result.

He checked his status panel.

[Ding! Successfully reclaimed 35 silver resource boxes, obtained 52 silver ingots.]
[Ding! Successfully reclaimed 2 abandoned sedans: 600 iron ingots, 24 rubber, 24 glass, 52 plastic, 88 electronic components, 76 cloth, 4 copper ingots, 2 silver ingots, 22 general materials.]
[…]

It was simply too much—an absolute abundance. He now had over 9,000 iron ingots occupying ten slots, and 11,000 units of wood filling eleven more. Though the other materials weren’t as plentiful, their quantities were more than sufficient for his needs.

He checked his convoy’s stats:

[Handsome Convoy (1/30)] First place—Points: 52,114.
[Invincible Convoy (15/30)] Second place—Points: 9,212.
[…]

Alone, he dominated the leaderboard, with a lead of over 40,000 points—utterly overwhelming.

He then opened the regional channel—18,762. As expected, the death rate had slowed dramatically. Most deaths now were from player confrontations, with far fewer killed by creatures. After all, the others weren’t fools; if they couldn’t win a fight, they could always run.

“At last, it’s the final day. After today, is it finally over?”
“Hah, you wish. I bet this’ll go on for another year or so. If it stopped, it wouldn’t be called a survival game, would it?”
“I don’t care if it ends or not, as long as this winter is over. I can’t take it anymore. Even going to the bathroom is a race against time.”
“Why bother? I just go right here in the car and toss it all out when it’s done.”
“…”

Not a single useful piece of information, Lin Mu thought with a sigh, closing the channel.

He drove 500 kilometers from dawn till dusk, collecting ten crates’ worth of quintuple resources—an astronomical yield. All he had to provide was a bit of food and water, which he had in abundance.

At midnight, the blizzard ceased, and the familiar voice echoed from the sky:

“Congratulations on surviving the welfare phase. Now, you enter the true highway survival game.”

Lin Mu’s mouth twitched. Last time, it was called the novice phase; now, it’s the welfare phase. What next? The beginner’s stage?

The voice continued, “In highway survival, each cycle lasts 14 days. The first seven days are disaster-free; the last seven are the disaster phase. Starting now, all welfare benefits are revoked. Soon, you’ll know exactly what those benefits were. In seven days, you will face the next disaster, which will be revealed then. Hahaha, hope you have fun.”

A beam of light enveloped Lin Mu’s vehicle, making the cabin as bright as day. He shielded his eyes. After less than five minutes, the light faded outside, and when he peered through the windshield, he saw the world transformed. The snow-covered ground was gone, replaced by asphalt, and new plants lined the roadside.

The voice spoke again: “You see what’s outside, don’t you? That’s right, you’ve been transported to a planet teeming with life. Aren’t you delighted? Now, pay attention. Resource crates will no longer appear on the highway, but instead within a 10-kilometer by 10-kilometer town. While the area is larger, the number of crates has also increased—from ten to twenty. Also, the five nearest regional channels will be merged into one. Enjoy yourselves. Farewell!”

Lin Mu waited a moment, confirming the voice would not return. Rubbing his chin, he pondered the words.

A 14-day cycle meant little to him. With his modification skills, he could adapt to any disaster short of certain death. The real intrigue lay in all the changes this new place would bring.