Chapter 71: Which Path to Take? Naturally, It's Your Choice

After exchanging several secret signals, Lin Mu confirmed that the woman before him was indeed Gu Wanqing herself and hadn’t been replaced by anything else.

“How’s the situation inside?”

Gu Wanqing shook her head. “There’s nothing—only fog. Maybe there aren’t any beasts or other creatures nearby. But there’s one thing: inside the mist, there’s a clear area within two meters around a person.”

Lin Mu nodded and let her get in the vehicle first.

Yesterday, upon hearing that voice again, he’d thought the disaster had come early, or perhaps that this one would last fourteen days. After all, the voice had only announced itself a day before the previous disaster. But this time, it began right at the start, which was suspicious. It seemed the timing of the announcement and the actual occurrence of disasters were not necessarily connected.

Lin Mu’s lips twitched; in the end, he’d only managed to scare himself.

“If you have any wishes, you can tell me.”

Gu Wanqing hesitated for a moment. “I haven’t thought of one yet. Can I keep it for later?”

Lin Mu considered and nodded. “Alright.”

After their meal, Lin Mu brought out the vehicle, and the chubby one and Shu Yi went down to drive. Today, however, neither of them wore protective gear. Gu Wanqing had confirmed there were no toxins outside, so there was no need to waste those resources.

Two hundred kilometers behind them, a stretch of green mist drifted closer. Wherever it passed, the grass withered, and the surrounding fog turned green as well. Compared to yesterday, the mist was moving faster. Yet no one had noticed.

...

“001, get me a bottle of ice-cold fizzy drink.”

“Yes, master.”

Lin Mu gripped the steering wheel with one hand, drumming on it idly with the other. They’d been driving for two hours already and hadn’t encountered even a single supply crate. That was over three hundred kilometers—nearly four hundred. Normally, they should have reached the second supply point by now. Yet there was nothing. Was he truly cursed with bad luck?

Taking the drink 001 handed over, he took a deep gulp. The restless feeling in his chest subsided.

He slowed the car. “Shu Yi, you take the lead.”

“Huh? But the route—”

“You choose.”

If your luck with cards is bad, maybe switching places will help—even here.

Lin Mu opened the regional channel. He was not alone; many others were in the same predicament, and only a handful had found supply crates.

“Have we been tricked? There’s hardly any resources here!”

“Don’t get me started. I’ve been driving since six in the morning and haven’t seen a single supply crate. Over five hundred kilometers, not one!”

“Heh, I found a supply crate, then ran into a giant. What do you think happened?”

“…”

A giant? Could there be danger today? But before worrying about danger, he needed to find resources first.

Ten minutes later.

“Master, a supply crate spotted ahead,” 001 projected the radar image onto the windshield.

Hearing this, Lin Mu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Finally—about time. After collecting this batch, they moved on.

Less than an hour later, they found the second batch of crates. After lunch, they continued on. Two hours later, they encountered a third batch.

Lin Mu glanced at the crates scattered on the ground, then at Shu Yi, who was leading. Was this really a matter of luck?

After collecting the third batch, Lin Mu walked over to Shu Yi’s car. “How did you choose the route?”

“Huh? Just picked normally,” Shu Yi replied, puzzled. What was there to choose? Just go whichever way.

Lin Mu’s mouth twitched. Was he really that unlucky?

From 2:30 in the afternoon until 8:00 at night, in just five and a half hours, they encountered supply crates three more times. Six batches in one day—a total of 180 crates. Lin Mu made a killing.

It felt almost too good to be true.

On the third day, he still took the lead. They set out early, at 6:30, and in five hours only found two batches of crates, both of which were encountered while cutting across the grassland to a side road.

Lin Mu’s eyes twitched. This didn’t make sense.

Illogical as it was, the afternoon made it clear. Once Shu Yi took the lead again, they collected far more resources in the same amount of time.

Lin Mu had to admit, this really did come down to luck.

...

On the fourth day, after breakfast, the group set off as usual, with Shu Yi leading. Lin Mu opened the trading center. He’d sold quite a lot, but most of it was junk. Still, he had obtained several component blueprints, which meant there were buyers out there.

He now had three bullet blueprint designs.

[Universal Hot Weapon Component Bullet Blueprint (SS)]: Suitable for basic weapon ammunition; specifications can be selected during manufacture.

Even better than he’d expected. He’d thought each component would require a separate blueprint, but one blueprint covered all, saving him much trouble.

Screech!

Shu Yi braked ahead, and Lin Mu quickly stopped his car as well.

“Brother Mu! Brother Mu! There’s a giant over five meters tall standing in the middle of the road ahead—what should we do?” Shu Yi’s voice trembled slightly. If that thing hit her, she’d probably be reduced to a pulp.

Oh? A giant? He had to see for himself.

“I’ll check it out. You and the chubby one stay here.”

Lin Mu turned left. There stood a five-meter-tall giant, gripping a club made of either metal or stone, staring at them.

[Mountain Giant]

[Danger Level: SS]

[Suggestion: Use your sword to slay it.]

Hmm? Something that could be killed with a single strike, yet rated SS in danger?

A silver longsword shot from the vehicle’s front, piercing the giant’s neck and slicing left, felling the creature. The entire process—from the sword emerging to the giant collapsing—took less than two seconds.

Lin Mu felt nothing at the sight. Size meant nothing—could even a giant withstand his forty-meter sword? Even if the blade was only half a meter long, it was, undeniably, a forty-meter sword.

[Congratulations, player, for slaying an SS-level Mountain Giant. Rewards: Giant’s Heart (SS) x1, Giant’s Eye (S) x2, Giant’s Weapon (A) x1.]

Looking at the newly acquired items, Lin Mu was bewildered. What were these things? Previously, killing such enemies would at least yield some hide or meat. This time, he got a pile of odd parts.

[Giant’s Weapon (A)]: A club weighing 500 jin; quite effective for smashing things to a pulp.

Lin Mu’s lip twitched. What kind of joke was this? Five hundred kilos? Even if it was just 500 jin, he couldn’t use it anyway.

He tossed the useless weapon straight into the recycling space—such items in his hands would be reduced to basic materials.

As for the remaining two items, they were simply labeled as materials; he had no idea what they were for.

Still, why hadn’t the giant attacked them upon sight? That was strange, indeed.