Gunshot

Half a pack of cigarettes appeared in Qin Ran's hand.

[Name: Cigarettes]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[Quality: Ordinary]

[Attribute: Small chance of dispelling fear and anxiety]

[Special Effect: None]

[Can be taken out of this dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: In the face of true fear and anxiety, they are practically useless!]

A lighter appeared along with the cigarettes. Its attributes were no different from the one Qin Ran had obtained earlier; both were classified as miscellaneous items, and both were damaged in quality.

Looking at the cigarettes in his hand, Qin Ran tucked them, along with the newly acquired lighter, into his coat pocket.

Qin Ran did not smoke.

One reason was his health.

The other was money.

Genetic Virus Syndrome, along with the cost of a pack of cigarettes being equivalent to two meals, had doomed Qin Ran to stay away from them.

But in the game, Qin Ran did not mind.

Of course, now was not the time.

Qin Ran bent down and carefully searched the corpse in front of him once more. Only after confirming there was nothing worth taking did he stand up and leave.

Night had already fallen. Qin Ran did not want to wait inside such an obvious building for gangs of thugs to come calling.

He needed to find himself a more concealed, safer hiding place.

Then he could carefully consider what to do next.

After passing through the empty corridor and hall, Qin Ran stopped beside the door leading outside. He cautiously poked his head out and surveyed the scene beyond the house.

Collapsed buildings, rubble and debris everywhere.

It looked like ruins.

That was Qin Ran's assessment.

After confirming there was no one else around, Qin Ran hunched over and slipped out of the house in small, quick steps, arriving beneath a collapsed wall.

This wall should have been the load-bearing wall of some building.

Judging by its length, there should have been at least a three-story house here.

But now, all that remained was a wall barely higher than waist level, along with rocks, bricks, and rotten wood.

Qin Ran crouched in the wall's shadow, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.

Although the place had become ruins, judging from the positions and shapes of the remaining structures, Qin Ran could determine that this had originally been a residential area.

And it had been a wealthy neighborhood.

Facilities such as drains and sewers were bound to exist in a neighborhood like this.

There might even be independent underground spaces.

That was naturally good news for Qin Ran.

Because it meant he would not have to deal with more survivors.

Given that survivors could turn into thugs at any moment, Qin Ran believed that the less contact he had with them, the better.

Qin Ran continued forward in a crouch.

He searched for manhole covers or entrances that could lead underground.

The search took Qin Ran around thirty minutes.

During those thirty minutes, Qin Ran found two manhole covers.

Unfortunately, the first one was buried beneath a pile of bricks and rubble. Qin Ran could see the cover, but opening it and climbing inside was impossible.

Because doing so would not only require clearing away the bricks piled on top of it, but also doing so without making any noise.

Once he made noise, it would inevitably draw the attention of other survivors and thugs searching through the darkness.

At the very least, Qin Ran had seen two armed people wandering nearby.

They had not noticed Qin Ran, and Qin Ran had no intention of fighting two opponents at once.

So Qin Ran hid carefully and only resumed his search after they had left.

While moving forward like this, Qin Ran discovered a second manhole cover leading underground.

But just as the first cover had posed a problem, this one did too.

In fact, the problem before him was even greater than the one at the first manhole cover.

In Qin Ran's line of sight, two people were facing off from opposite sides.

One held a wooden club.

The other gripped half a steel bar with a chunk of concrete still attached to it.

Between them was the manhole cover Qin Ran had been searching for.

Qin Ran's appearance did not draw the attention of the two people facing off.

Aside from Qin Ran moving quietly enough, it was mainly because both sides were completely focused on each other and could hardly notice anything else.

Qin Ran frowned as he watched the two people.

He had no intention of getting involved.

Nor did he intend to sit back and reap the benefits.

Unless one of them could silently kill the other.

Otherwise, a dying scream in such a relatively open place would be enough to draw over all the thugs wandering nearby.

At that point, they would not be facing one or two people.

They would be facing a whole group of armed bastards.

Could one of them really kill the other without making a sound?

If that truly happened, Qin Ran would be even more glad to leave.

After all, anyone capable of effortlessly killing an opponent face-to-face was definitely not someone to provoke lightly.

His thoughts turning, Qin Ran quickly made his decision.

He lowered himself, keeping his eyes on the two people facing off as he carefully backed away, doing his best not to make the slightest sound.

But all that caution became useless when Qin Ran stepped on a piece of rotten wood.

Crack!

The crisp sound made Qin Ran freeze.

Damn it!

Qin Ran cursed inwardly. He did not remember there being any wood on the path he had taken that could snap beneath his foot, but it was too late for that now.

The two people facing off had already turned to look in his direction.

Their eyes were filled with vigilance and curiosity.

To keep the situation from worsening, Qin Ran stepped out from his hiding place and raised both hands, indicating that he meant no harm.

"Is that you?!"

One of the people facing off suddenly spoke. The slightly hoarse voice allowed Qin Ran to immediately identify her.

It was the woman he had encountered earlier.

As soon as the woman spoke, the other person holding the steel bar abruptly began backing away.

Just as Qin Ran did not want to face two opponents, that person clearly did not want to face such a situation either.

Although he could not know much more than that, the woman's words had already revealed something: she knew Qin Ran.

That was enough reason for him to leave.

Watching this, Qin Ran shrugged.

Qin Ran was eighty percent certain that the woman had spoken on purpose, intending to resolve the immediate problem in an easier way.

Just like in the house earlier.

The woman had undoubtedly noticed Qin Ran's presence first.

But in order to kill her opponent more simply and effectively, she had not only failed to warn him, but had also cooperated with Qin Ran, using an even more pitiful appearance to lure her opponent into the trap.

So she was a smart woman.

And Qin Ran did not want to become enemies with a woman like that.

On top of that, she had shown kindness with limits earlier.

Qin Ran considered her someone he could "talk" to.

He did not mind offering up some supplies in exchange for more valuable information from her.

"I—"

Bang!

Before Qin Ran could say anything, a sudden gunshot cut him off.

The head of the man who had just retreated burst apart like a watermelon run over by a car tire.

At the same time, two people with savage grins stepped out of the darkness.

Qin Ran's gaze shifted from the headless corpse collapsing to the ground to the two people raising their guns again. His entire body shuddered, and he swiftly retreated behind a wall, curling himself up to keep from exposing himself to their line of fire.

"Damn it!"

Like Qin Ran, the woman had ducked behind the wall the instant the shot rang out. At that moment, she was cursing nonstop.

"Why are Vulture's people here? Those bitches!"

Qin Ran could clearly see hatred and... fear on her face, even though it was covered in dust and grime.

"Vulture?"

Qin Ran repeated the name.

He naturally did not foolishly believe she was talking about an actual vulture.

It should have been a nickname.

Anyone with such a nickname was not likely to be merciful or kind.

After all, vultures were known in the animal kingdom for watching corpses and devouring carrion.

If a person bore such a name...

Qin Ran instinctively thought of the fallen headless corpse, and his body stiffened.

Stay calm! Stay calm!

Qin Ran told himself that, doing his best to drive away his fear.

Then he handed the kitchen knife from his backpack to the woman beside him.

At a time like this, one more person capable of fighting was better than nothing.

And the kitchen knife was obviously much better than a wooden club.

The woman clearly understood what Qin Ran meant. Without a word, she took the kitchen knife and gripped it tightly, determination appearing in her eyes.

After four months of war, she had experienced far too much in order to survive.

She had faced dangerous situations like this far more often than Qin Ran had.

So she knew what to do.

"One person draws their attention. The other attacks!"

Qin Ran froze.

"One person draws their attention? The other attacks?"

Clearly, with the other side having guns, whoever drew their attention would have to take considerable risks.

One mistake, and it meant death.

Qin Ran absolutely did not want to die like this.

So instinctively, Qin Ran was about to reject the suggestion.

But before he could, the woman continued.

"I'll draw their attention! You're good with a knife, and I'm good at dodging—this is the best division of labor!"

Tap, tap, tap!

As soon as the woman finished speaking, footsteps rang out. There was no attempt to hide them; the newcomers clearly did not take Qin Ran and the woman seriously at all.

"Don't kill me!"

Without further hesitation, the woman let out a hoarse scream that was still clearly female.

Then she ran toward the ruins across from them.

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