I wonder if anyone has unboxed a foldable mattress yet—the truck bed is way too hard. Even piling all my clothes underneath doesn’t help.
Normally, I could tough it out, but with my health in poor condition right now, if my sleep quality doesn’t improve, my health stats won’t recover, and fatigue will be hard to shake off.
Qi Xu opened the trading hall and realized the half-pack of cigarettes he’d listed earlier had already received over a dozen trade requests.
He’d completely forgotten about it.
And of all times, someone just messaged him about the cigarettes again.
Old White Dragon in the Waves: "Hey, boss, any update? Have you sold those cigs yet? If so, I’ll stop bothering you."
Qi Xu scrolled up and saw this guy was relentless—asking every two hours like clockwork...
But since they weren’t friends, the messages didn’t trigger notifications, so Qi Xu only noticed them now.
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Still available. What’s your offer? No food or drinks."
Old White Dragon in the Waves: "I scored a hygiene kit today—face wash, toothpaste, toothbrush, moisturizer, hand cream. Wanna trade?"
Qi Xu thought it was decent and sent the trade request right away.
Old White Dragon in the Waves: "You’re a real one, bro! Mind adding me as a friend? I’m getting the better deal here—next time, I’ll throw in extra."
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Sure!"
After adding the friend, Qi Xu reflexively checked his friend list. Good—no grayed-out names.
He searched the trading hall for mattresses or blankets but found nothing.
So he posted in the main chat.
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Anyone got a mattress or bedding?"
Sweet Donut: "Whirlwind bro, upgrading your lifestyle already? Ugh, I’m still at the ‘just surviving’ stage."
Player 1212: "This is why I don’t get it. You’re not even short on supplies—why snipe my basic black space stone?"
Little Red Riding Hood: "Boss, can you spill what the top regional reward is? Give us peasants something to drool over."
Player 1013: "Got a yoga mat. Want it? @Invincible Black Whirlwind"
Qi Xu already had one yoga mat, but since no mattresses turned up, he decided to grab this one.
He DM’d: "What do you want for the yoga mat?"
"Just food. Kid’s starving."
Qi Xu sent two rolls and a compressed biscuit.
Player 1013 instantly accepted and shipped the yoga mat. Given how food prices were still sky-high, Qi Xu had checked the market rates—fair deal.
Both sides walked away happy.
Back in the main chat:
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang: "Anyone want anti-fatigue oral solution? Three vials—each cuts 20 fatigue points!"
Sweet Donut: "Who needs that? Just rest and your fatigue drops naturally."
I'm 1.8 Meters Tall: "I’ll take it for free."
Light Fills the World: "Might be useful later. @Bubbly Girl Guo Degang, don’t undersell it."
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang: "Then wanna buy it?"
Light Fills the World: "Mainly trying to save you from a bad deal."
Qi Xu smirked. This "Light" guy was something else—no wonder he was the first marked for assassination. A true talent for infuriating people.
He DM’d Bubbly Girl Guo Degang: "I’ll take the anti-fatigue vials. What do you need?"
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang: "Great! Two metal sheets and a screw. Got any rubber? Need one piece. If three vials aren’t enough, I’ll toss in something extra."
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Deal. Just those three."
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang spammed kissy emojis. "Thank you!!! My vehicle’s one upgrade away—just needed these."
She sent the vials immediately.
Qi Xu’s fatigue was at 67. He downed two vials and instantly felt like two sacks of cement had been lifted off his shoulders.
Too unwell to exercise today, he just lay in the truck bed, staring at the sky.
Most people were still fresh to this survival game—maybe in denial, but at least everything felt novel.
Not Qi Xu. He was numb. Four years of this: no entertainment, just a monotonous cycle of tension and brutality.
Back in the instance, when monsters were about to devour him, he'd died laughing, thinking it was over.
Then... he woke up and had to start all over again.
Relief at surviving. Confusion over why to keep living. So he just moved on autopilot, using past experience to scrape by.
Does this highway even end? Do we just drive forever?
Qi Xu didn’t know.
In the old game, he had no friends, no loved ones, not even enemies. If someone crossed him, he’d either kill them on the spot or swallow the insult.
Nothing is more important than staying alive. Because Qi Xu neither wished to befriend others nor to make enemies, she lived as an outcast on the fringes, almost like a ghost.
Every day was spent toiling for a future that seemed endless, meticulously calculating how much she could eat today, how much she could afford, and how to survive tomorrow...
From a frail girl who could barely lift a cooking pot, she had become a cold-blooded warrior who could kill without blinking and face monsters without flinching.
The hardship of that transformation... Would experiencing it again lead to a different outcome? Even with a head start, Qi Xu’s heart was still filled with uncertainty.
Though she didn’t fully understand, she knew that a second chance was something countless others could only dream of. The knife was right beside her, but she couldn’t bring herself to slit her own throat.
So, she might as well... sleep.
Consider it the melodramatic whining of someone with too much time.
Being able to fall asleep anytime was a skill in itself.
On the second day, after waking up, Qi Xu felt much better physically, and the chaotic thoughts in her mind had mostly cleared.
Aside from the lingering pain in her arms, the rest of her body only ached slightly.
Still, her spirits were decent, and her fatigue level had dropped from 21 the previous night to 13. Remembering last night’s gloom, she shook her head vigorously.
Stretching lazily, she lounged in bed for a while before finally sitting up. Today, she felt like slacking off—no training.
Just then, Qi Xu heard a notification chime and froze for a second. Who would message her this early?
Opening it, she saw it was from Chinese Master Chef.
"I’ve got too many dishes to make, and my vehicle’s slow. I still have a daily mileage quota to hit, so it’ll probably take me two more days. But I made you breakfast first—don’t worry, I didn’t rush. Hang in there!"
[Player Chinese Master Chef has sent you a gift. Would you like to accept?]
Qi Xu tapped "Yes."
A tray materialized before her, steam rising in wispy curls. On it were a bowl of vegetable and lean meat porridge, ham and bacon rolls, pumpkin cheese egg toast, and a small plate of sliced apples.
Qi Xu forgot to reply, immediately digging in bite by bite...
........
