Chapter 11
by GideonChapter 11: Snow Mountain Town 11 — Within Range, the Prey
Today marked Jiang Qibai’s sixth day in Snow Mountain Town.
The weather was terrible. Just after waking up, Jiang Qibai pulled back the curtains and glanced outside. The sky was choked with dense, gloomy clouds.
Two days ago, the calendar’s weather forecast had predicted a cloudy day. Now, it had updated to Overcast with Sleet.
Rainy and gloomy weather was clearly a disadvantage for players. However, Jiang Qibai was no longer the pure novice who would tremble at the sight of a single Shadow Ghost. Besides, she had an appointment with Suisui An today, so she proceeded with her original plan to head out.
After a quick preparation, Jiang Qibai left the Safehouse.
Shortly after arriving at the meeting spot, Suisui An appeared on the street. She was wearing black cargo pants and a light blue windbreaker, with a crossbody bag slung over her hip.
“Good morning,” Jiang Qibai greeted. “How’s your injured friend doing?”
Suisui An paused, momentarily taken aback. Such a normal, pre-apocalypse pleasantry felt strange and awkward to her.
“Good morning. Uh, he’s doing much better.”
As if to hide her awkwardness, she immediately got straight to the point.
[ Player Suisui An has used the skill [Hunting Ground]. Displaying the positions of all monsters, players, and teammates within a one-kilometer radius centered on herself. Duration: 1 hour. Cooldown: 6 hours. ]
A map materialized in Suisui An’s vision. It was densely packed with countless red dots, a few scattered yellow ones, and a single green dot. One of the yellow dots was right beside her—Jiang Qibai’s marker.
Her gaze swept across the map, and she quickly spotted today’s target: a red dot a size larger than the rest. “There’s a Mutated Shadow Ghost two blocks away. Follow me.”
Jiang Qibai lifted her foot and kept pace.
Walking in silence felt strange, so she broke the ice. “I saw you guys had two Healers yesterday. Could they really not keep up?” In a six-person party, two Healers was a generous ratio.
Suisui An slowed her pace so Jiang Qibai could keep up. She asked in return, “What’s the cooldown on your Healing Skill?”
“Two hours,” Jiang Qibai replied, her expression unchanged.
“Exactly,” Suisui An said, as if she’d expected the answer. “Healers have too few Healing Skills, and the cooldowns are way too long. One Healer is enough for small mobs, but in a critical moment, a single heal isn’t enough.”
She thought for a moment and added, “But your skill’s healing amount is pretty good.”
Jiang Qibai knew that the skill’s base heal of 20 HP wasn’t worth such praise. Suisui An must have seen it trigger the double-heal effect when the target’s HP was below 15%.
She didn’t correct Suisui An’s misconception, instead asking tentatively, “Um, what kind of monster is a Blood Terracotta?”
Suisui An wasn’t surprised that Jiang Qibai had entered the inn after them and found the Blood Terracotta’s corpse, but she didn’t want to elaborate. “Blood Terracottas vary in strength, but they’re all far more powerful than Mutated Shadow Ghosts. You can’t deal with them. Even if the System spawns a daily quest related to them, don’t bother. Failing a quest just costs some Points—better that than losing your life.”
The benefit of traveling with a veteran player like Suisui An was that a single casual comment could reveal information that would otherwise cost Jiang Qibai dearly to uncover.
Now she knew the penalty for not completing daily quests.
The difficulty of daily quests varied. For instance, the one Jiang Qibai had today—slaying 10 Shadow Ghosts—was considered low-to-mid tier. If she ever got a quest involving a Blood Terracotta, even if it wasn’t a kill mission, it would be high-difficulty and nearly impossible for her to complete with her current abilities.
Even if a quest wasn’t difficult, unforeseen circumstances—like terrible weather or Jiang Qibai falling ill—could still make it impossible to complete.
The penalty points for failing a quest likely varied by difficulty. This meant she couldn’t spend all her Points; she’d need to save a reserve to cover potential penalties. Given how the System forced players into massive “mortgage-like” debts the moment they entered a Dungeon, it was hard not to imagine the worst-case scenario if her Points balance ever dipped into the negatives.
As they talked, the two quickly reached the Mutated Shadow Ghost’s location—a fruit stand.
[ Player Suisui An has activated the Skill [Within Range]. Any target within range is considered prey. Locking onto several targets… Gained bonus movement speed, accuracy, and physical damage. Duration: 30 minutes. Cooldown: 2 hours. ]
Before Jiang Qibai could even spot the Mutated Shadow Ghost, Suisui An had already charged out. Her weapon was a sleek black longbow, and in the blink of an eye, she had already loosed two arrows.
Seeing this, Jiang Qibai hurriedly shouted, “Don’t kill it! I need it alive!”
Suisui An understood. She was here to help Jiang Qibai find the Mutated Shadow Ghost, after all. If she killed it herself, what would be left for Jiang Qibai to do?
Seeing that its HP was low enough, Suisui An threw out a black iron ring, pinning the Mutated Shadow Ghost to the spot. “Hurry up,” she told Jiang Qibai.
Jiang Qibai’s Blank Employee Badge was already prepared. She had released the ordinary Shadow Ghost she’d captured earlier the previous night, recycling it for 2 Points.
[ Mutated Shadow Ghost HP: 12/30 Strength: 4 Defense: 3 Agility: 9 Spirit: 0 ]
This Mutated Shadow Ghost was stronger than Jiang Qibai’s first Shadow Ghost employee, with slightly higher attributes across the board, though its HP was far from healthy.
Although she had lied to Mr. Tree about having a Beast Tamer’s Talent, Jiang Qibai couldn’t actually heal her Shadow Ghost employees. If healing them caused their attributes to exceed her own, they would fall outside the Blank Employee Badge’s control.
Suisui An had assumed Jiang Qibai wanted to kill the Mutated Shadow Ghost. To her surprise, Jiang Qibai simply stepped forward a few paces, and the creature vanished, even breaking free from the restraint of Suisui An’s item.
Unsure of what had happened, Suisui An immediately glanced at Jiang Qibai. Seeing her completely unfazed, she knew this was all Jiang Qibai’s doing. No wonder she had kept saying she wanted to “catch” the Mutated Shadow Ghost rather than “help kill” it.
Suisui An didn’t press the issue. She was the kind of Doomsday Dungeon player who fit the stereotype perfectly—exceptionally mindful of boundaries with anyone who wasn’t her own teammate. She never pried into other players’ skills or talents.
It was common knowledge that players with pure healing talents were rare. Most had a diverse array of abilities, with perhaps one skill that happened to restore health. Because of this, one couldn’t simply treat so-called “Healers” as pure support.
After securing the Mutated Shadow Ghost, Jiang Qibai quietly tucked away her Employee Badge and nodded to Suisui An. “Thanks. Our deal is done. You have my contact info now, so feel free to reach out if you need healing services in the future.”
Healing Suisui An’s teammate had been the most worthwhile trade Jiang Qibai had ever made. Not only did she get an item that provided 20 Shield Value, but she also gained an exceptionally skilled assistant. While she might not have been completely unable to recruit an employee of this quality on her own, it would have taken a lot more effort. This was far too easy.
Suisui An couldn’t say for sure that she wouldn’t need Jiang Qibai again. “Alright,” she agreed. “If the opportunity arises.”
After Suisui An left, Jiang Qibai didn’t return to her Safehouse. Instead, she lured a few Shadow Ghosts from the nearby area to complete her daily missions. The new employee’s stats weren’t as high as Jiang Qibai’s, but facing ordinary Shadow Ghosts was still a total stomp.
As Jiang Qibai’s summoned minion, the Shadow Ghost employee wouldn’t steal her kills; the Points still went to her.
After finishing her daily missions, Jiang Qibai took the Shadow Ghost employee back to the vicinity of her Safehouse and began clearing out the nearby monsters.
She had previously cleared the surrounding area of Shadow Ghosts on a small scale for safety, but many more still wandered in and damaged her Safehouse while she was out. Sometimes, when she returned, she’d find the Safehouse’s HP had dropped by a few points.
Fortunately, the Shadow Ghosts weren’t actually interested in the wooden boards and weren’t deliberately attacking the Safehouse; the damage was just collateral.
Jiang Qibai’s current Points were still insufficient to equip an Anti-Intrusion System, so her only option was to protect the Safehouse by reducing the density of monsters nearby.
As Jiang Qibai’s sweeping operation began, her Points grew at a steady pace. This was probably the day she killed the most monsters, feeling more passion than she ever did when working overtime to pay off a mortgage.
A System notification appeared: [ You have unlocked the achievement [Battle Euphoria]. Reward: Strength +1 ]
Her movements paused for only a split second before Jiang Qibai continued to use her spiked baseball bat to crush the skulls of the Shadow Ghosts before her.
During her break, Jiang Qibai received a message from Luan Qi Ba Jiao.
“Bai Qi, any interest in heading to the canning factory in the suburbs to scavenge? We’re leaving tomorrow morning, and there’s still a spot open.”
Jiang Qibai stared at the words canning factory for a moment, already savoring the imagined aroma of meat. “Got a vehicle?”
Luan Qi Ba Jiao: “Yeah, one of our teammates is providing one. But just a heads-up: several waves of players have already hit the factory. According to those who just got back, the place has been picked clean. But you know how it is for new players like us—we’ve got no resources, so we’re just picking up the scraps others leave behind. If there’s even a sliver of hope, we have to try.”
“One of the players joining us has a Talent related to searching for supplies. Maybe they can find something the others missed in some dusty corner.”
Jiang Qibai weighed the pros and cons. She figured spending a day on a gamble was worth it. Food was just too important, and the Mall’s prices were extortionate. Setting aside the need to stockpile for future Dungeons, she at least needed enough to survive this one to feel secure.
“I’m in. Where are we meeting tomorrow?”
Luan Qi Ba Jiao: “7:30 AM, Central Square.”
“That early?”
The sun wouldn’t even be up by 7:30 AM in Snow Mountain Town. Venturing out in the dark was hardly a good idea.
“Can’t be helped,” Luan Qi Ba Jiao said helplessly. “If we want to be back before dark, we have to leave early. The days are just too short here. Between the travel time and the search, we’re either leaving in the dark or coming back in it.”
The rest of the team had already agreed—starting early was the better option.
Jiang Qibai knew there was no way around it. She didn’t dwell on the timing, but she did ask one more question: “Do I need to join as the Healer?”
Truthfully, she hated admitting she was a Healer. She’d only revealed it to Mr. Tree out of desperation; otherwise, she would never have secured a spot on the Fuel Search Team. Under normal circumstances, she would have much preferred to join as an ordinary Player.
Her reasoning was simple: her Healing Skill had such a long cooldown that she’d definitely need to save it for herself. It was better to not mention it at all than to be an unreliable Healer.
Luan Qi Ba Jiao guessed what was bothering her. “I haven’t told them about your Talent. You can decide when to bring it up. The entry requirements for this team aren’t high—it’s mostly just newbies who’ve only been through one or two Dungeons.”
Jiang Qibai was immensely grateful. “You’ll be second in line for my Healing Skill.”
“Well, thank you very much. See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
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