Looting

Snap!

A branch snapped.

Zhu Jiusi, deep in sleep, woke instantly. Three years of Journey Survival had kept him in a state of constant vigilance.

The slightest movement was enough to rouse him.

Yet he did not rush to jump up; he didn't even twitch an eyelid, continuing to breathe steadily as if still fast asleep.

But his mind was already rapidly analyzing the air entering his nostrils.

The air was two parts drier than before, unlike the pure forest air he had been breathing earlier.

It was also laced with three parts the scent of blood—human blood!

The paths had merged!

An environmental shift meant his path had intersected with another's. That person was either injured or had killed someone.

The scent was distant; there was no immediate danger nearby.

Zhu Jiusi slowly opened his eyes.

He looked ahead but saw no one.

He rolled to his feet, checked his surroundings to ensure there was no danger, and followed the small path forward. After walking a full mile, he rounded a bend.

Suddenly, he saw a cart.

It was an ox cart, but the ox had collapsed to the ground.

In Journey Survival, ox carts and horse carriages—while featuring oxen and horses—were not truly living beasts. They possessed great spiritual intelligence, required no food or water, and were essentially part of the cart itself.

The ox collapsing meant the cart had sustained severe damage.

The Great Paths had intersected!

There was a concept in Journey Survival: the path beneath one's feet was the Great Path cultivated by the Path Seeker.

The Great Path was walked alone, but it often intersected with others. Sometimes, the Great Paths even merged.

Those who stepped onto the same path were either Dao companions or rivals competing for the path.

A struggle for the path meant life or death.

Since it had only just begun, this was likely just an accidental intersection. Zhu Jiusi slowly came to a halt, intending to wait for the ox cart to yield the way.

In such situations, if both parties increased the distance between them, the Great Paths would naturally separate.

But the ox cart had no such intention. Instead, upon hearing his approach, someone struggled to lift their torso from the cart bed.

It was a man with a crew cut. Seeing a Mountain Boar standing on the path, he was startled, looking as if he wanted to jump off the cart to escape but was too severely injured to move.

Only when he saw the boar remain still did he cautiously ask, "A... a Path Seeker?"

His accent was strange, a dialect from somewhere unknown.

"A Demon Cultivator... a Path Seeker?" Seeing Zhu Jiusi remain still, even appearing to retreat slightly, the man finally confirmed it.

"Thank goodness... finally, someone! I don't have to die..."

"Buddy, I opened a gourd and a snake shot out, biting my ox and injuring me too. Do you have any healing medicine or food? I'll trade with you!"

As he spoke, he rummaged around and pulled out quite a few items, placing them under the cart.

"If... if you can... trade some wood and metal too... I, I need to fix my cart..." His voice was as thin as a thread.

Zhu Jiusi looked at the items on the ground: stone, cotton, seasonings, water! A pair of pig eyes suddenly flashed with greedy light.

As if he couldn't control himself, he began pulling things out while walking forward.

Metal, wood, and a whole, fresh Napa cabbage.

Trade, trade! I have it all!

He reached the cart and emptied everything, laying it at the base of the vehicle, and was just about to reach out to collect the traded goods.

A dagger silently emerged from above. The Mountain Boar, head bowed to exchange items, noticed nothing. A flash of malice crossed the man's eyes as he struck downward.

Yet at that very moment, the boar suddenly rammed its head into the undercarriage of the ox cart, flipping it upward. The entire cart overturned.

The man on the cart was instantly slammed into the ground.

Terror washed over his face as he struggled to rise, but the boar had already charged. He was sent flying like a broken doll, rolling across the ground until he lay completely still.

A bloody hole gaped in his chest, blood bubbling out. That charge had driven the boar's tusks in like a Demon-Subduing Pestle, piercing his heart.

The speed was too fast; he hadn't even felt the pain, only shock.

How did this pig... know he was going to ambush him?

Could a pig see what was above its head?

He tremblingly took out a bottle of pills, but before he could swallow them, his hand dropped, his body slumped to the side, and he breathed his last.

The bottle of pills fell to the ground, rolling under Zhu Jiusi's hooves.

Basic Healing Pill x2

"Heart like iron and stone, killing like a demon. Hiss... Path Seeker, have you forgotten that three days ago you were still human? Killing without a moment's hesitation, you are simply a fiend!"

"Title: Fiend. Immune to a sliver of damage when battling human Path Seekers."

Zhu Jiusi: "..."

You despise me for killing without blinking, yet you give me such a title. You're such a hypocrite!

Journey Survival is not entirely digitized, but many people managed to summarize quite a few patterns during the last round.

Immunity to a sliver of damage—a sliver is approximately between 1% and 3%. It may not seem high, but often, this sliver is enough to save a life.

As soon as the title was obtained, Zhu Jiusi immediately replaced the Blockhead title he had just equipped.

Only then did he look at the corpse on the ground.

The Scroll belonging to this person on the corpse was still emitting its final glow, revealing the corpse's information.

[Name: Zheng Ai]

[Daoist Name: Don't Hit Me, I'm Timid]

[Identity: Robber]

Killing a Path Seeker displays the Path Seeker's basic information; under normal circumstances, it only shows their name, Daoist name, and characteristics or occupation from before entering Journey Survival.

No wonder he came to rob people on the very first day—a repeat offender!

Unfortunately, too stupid! A Path Seeker's ox cart or carriage isn't a real ox or horse; it won't be attacked by monsters.

Otherwise, after the novice period ends, why would the vehicle protect the Path Seeker?

Every word out of his mouth was a lie; it would be strange if there wasn't something fishy going on.

Besides—if he were truly in urgent need of medicine and food, shouldn't he have traded for them on the Scroll? Even a pig could clearly guess what kind of intentions someone has when they wait for people on the road.

Three years in Journey Survival, what haven't I seen?

But to have someone abandon their former moral values and directly attack others right at the start...

This person was actually quite suited for Journey Survival, it's just a pity he chose the wrong target.

His Scroll flickered and dissipated completely.

Zhu Jiusi walked over; the ox cart was empty, containing nothing at all. The corpse, however, dropped a few items.

After a Path Seeker dies, at least one-third of the items in their pack will randomly drop.

Drinking Water ×2

Toast Bread ×7

Metal ×15

Wood ×25

Stone ×20

Path Seeking Card ×1 (Usable times 1/3)

Sanitary Napkins ×4

So poor!

However, Journey Survival has only just begun, so it's normal for someone to have such meager assets, and this didn't necessarily drop everything the person had.

But this Path Seeking Card—this thing is both a treasure and a useless burden.

It can randomly cause one's path to intersect with another's, but who you end up intersecting with cannot be determined.

Unless one is insane, or has absolute confidence in their own combat power, who would dare to let their path intersect with others?

This person was only relying on the fact that it was the start, and everyone's underlying moral and legal concepts were still intact, to dare to think about being the first to discard morality and launch a sneak attack.

Come to think of it, many people have opened special items from their gourds.

Rain Seeker's skateboard, the Crude Clairvoyant he traded for, and this Path Seeking Card...

I've also opened quite a few gourds, so why is it all basic materials? Even food and water are extremely scarce!

Targeting me? Zhu Jiusi struggled to lift his head, barely managing to glance at the sky.

The Scroll flickered: "Robbed vehicle ox cart, dismantle it?"

"Dismantle!" Zhu Jiusi did not hesitate.