Rest

Qin Ran temporarily confirmed that they were safe.🐼♡ ❻９şĤǗＸ.ⓒόⓂ 🍮♪

However, the woman still listened and observed cautiously for a while. Only after confirming that no one was really chasing them did she continue moving.

"Follow me!"

the woman said.

Qin Ran immediately stepped forward and followed her deeper into the ruins.

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After stepping over or crawling beneath several obstructing beams and circling around several piles of rubble, a wooden partition was revealed when the woman brushed aside the sand and dirt in front of her with her palm.

Without a sound, the woman lifted the partition, revealing a flight of stairs leading downward before Qin Ran.

"Come in!"

The woman turned sideways and gestured for Qin Ran to enter.

Qin Ran walked in without hesitation.

By the faint light, Qin Ran had already made out what lay below.

This had originally been a storage room.

There were wooden shelves and some tools.

Other than that, there was no one else.

So there was no ambush or anything of the sort.

After entering the storage room, Qin Ran stood in a corner by the stairs. Once the woman came down, he quietly introduced himself in a low voice.

"Hello, my name is Qin Ran!"

"Colin! Are you a soldier?"

She asked this while studying him, the wariness in her eyes never quite fading.

Obviously, Qin Ran's use of the dagger earlier had left a deep impression on her.

"No, I just liked martial arts... Then, in this damned war, it got put to practical use! And I have no ill intentions. I never have, from the beginning until now! You should understand that if I wanted to harm you, I wouldn't have needed to go through all this trouble!"

Qin Ran noticed her gaze and carefully laid out the identity he had made up, explaining himself solemnly.

Soldier was not a good identity to have during wartime!

To the enemy, it meant death without question!

And to civilians, it also meant death, whether they were civilians from one's own side or the enemy's!

The poison of war brought out the worst in people. Especially when one side held an absolute advantage, Qin Ran could fully imagine the atrocities that Colin had witnessed soldiers commit over the past four months.💜💜  👺🐳

After all, the dungeon's mission background had mentioned the words "Rebel Army."

So Qin Ran would never admit to being a soldier.

Without a doubt, what Qin Ran had said was absolutely correct.

Or perhaps his explanation had worked.

After Qin Ran finished speaking, much of the vigilance in Colin's eyes immediately faded.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. But you know, I've run into quite a few deserters from the Rebel Army! Some of them were fairly kind, while others..."

At that point, Colin frowned, unsure how to describe them.

"People can be good or bad!"

Qin Ran said.

Those words could hardly be considered comfort, much less an evaluation.

They were simply appropriate words in an environment like this.

Because those words were so fitting, Colin temporarily accepted Qin Ran.

"As repayment for helping me, I can take you in for one day. You need to leave before nightfall tomorrow!"

Colin said.

"I'm deeply grateful!"

Qin Ran replied.

Although Qin Ran wanted to ask for more information, it would naturally have been inappropriate to ask right now.

Even though this was only a game!

Everything was so incredibly real that Qin Ran understood that if he did anything that did not fit the setting of the game, it would inevitably trigger a chain reaction.

It might be good!

Or it might be bad!

And according to Qin Ran's experience,

the latter was far more likely.

At the very least, he could not explain, "How could someone who had lived through four months of war be unfamiliar with this city?"

Qin Ran could even imagine the change in Colin's attitude if he asked questions that did not fit his identity!

It was very possible that he would even lose the shelter he had been granted for the day!

Therefore, when Qin Ran saw Colin walk to a corner of the storage room, curl up there, and stop talking, he went to the other side, leaned against the wall, and sat down with his eyes slightly narrowed.🏆♤  ☯♗

As he narrowed his eyes, darkness blocked Qin Ran's vision.

His Stamina recovered with his breathing, leaving him without any physical fatigue.

But the mental exhaustion left Qin Ran unwilling to move at all.

The images of blood and the shock of death resurfaced in his mind, utterly draining him at that moment.

Before long, Qin Ran fell completely asleep.

When a rustling sound reached his ears, Qin Ran woke from his sleep.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Colin in the opposite corner, nibbling on biscuits. From the open backpack beside her, it was clear that the biscuits came from last night's haul.

When she noticed Qin Ran looking at her, Colin's body stiffened.

Food held extraordinary value in wartime.

Bread and biscuits that would normally be casually discarded could spark a fierce fight at a time like this.

Just like Colin and the survivor who had been shot in the head last night.

Qin Ran, who had long understood this, immediately signaled that he meant no harm when he saw Colin stiffen up, then reached into his backpack and took out a can.

Colin remained stiff the entire time, only relaxing after Qin Ran took out the can.

When both sides had food, the risk of fighting dropped sharply.

Neither of them spoke during the breakfast that followed.

Colin kept her head slightly lowered, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Qin Ran ate his canned food while checking the system records.

First, [Main Quest: Survive Seven Days, 0/7] had changed to [1/7].

Second, a [hunger] status had appeared in the character attributes panel.

[Hunger: While in a state of hunger, maximum Stamina is reduced by 20%, Stamina consumption doubles, and HP will decrease when Stamina is insufficient]

After Qin Ran finished the entire can, the [hunger] status disappeared from the character attributes panel.

"Even hunger has appeared?"

Qin Ran thought silently.

Once again, he marveled at the Underground Game's "realism."

But that admiration soon turned into a sigh.

Because the appearance of the special status [hunger] meant Qin Ran had no choice but to work harder to gather more food.

And obviously, that would not be an easy task in this war-torn city.

"This should last another two or three days! If I want to maintain maximum combat effectiveness... two days is the limit!"

Qin Ran looked at the two remaining cans and one bottle of purified water in his backpack, calculating his daily rations.

The result was naturally far from optimistic.

"Cough, cough..."

The sudden coughing interrupted Qin Ran's thoughts.

Looking up, he saw Colin covering her mouth with one hand and patting her chest with the other.

Clearly, dry biscuits were not so easy to swallow.

"Have some water!"

Qin Ran picked up the purified water, walked over to Colin, and handed it to her.

Gulp! Gulp!

After twisting open the cap, Colin took two big gulps. Only after drinking a third of the bottle of purified water did she finally let out a long breath.

"Th-thank you!"

Colin looked at the remaining purified water and spoke somewhat embarrassedly.

Food was indispensable in wartime.

Water was the same!

And during war, someone willing to share food or water could only mean that they were truly a good person.

Therefore, Colin's attitude softened further toward such a good person.

And she began to willingly talk with Qin Ran.

That was exactly what Qin Ran had hoped for.

"What did you do before the war?"

Colin asked curiously.

"A student. Later, some things happened, and I became a shut-in! What about you?"

Qin Ran spoke about his own real-life experiences.

"I was a student too. But because of fighting, drinking, and some other things, I was thrown into a service center... Then, before I could finish my two hundred hours of community service, the war broke out! At first, I was grateful to be exempted from community service, but now I'd rather do community service for the rest of my life than be trapped here!"

After Qin Ran finished, Colin began talking about herself.

And she seemed to be going on and on.

The cold demeanor she had deliberately maintained all along collapsed completely at that moment.

Qin Ran merely shrugged and continued listening to Colin.

People wore masks in everyday life to protect themselves.

Let alone during war?

Everything abnormal was normal.

"I was originally near Sixth Avenue, but that guy Vulture and his men are worse than locusts. They stripped away every last bit of supplies, so I had no choice but to come to the Garden Villa District. Who knew that guy would come here too! Damn it! Bitch!"

"Vulture? Is that guy dangerous?"

Hearing that nickname again, Qin Ran deliberately asked.

"Of course you haven't heard of him elsewhere, Qin Ran!"

Colin waved a hand and said directly.

"Before the war began, Vulture was just a small-time thug! But after the war started, he happened to be locked up at the police station and somehow stumbled into a batch of weapons! After the Rebel Army deliberately pulled back, that guy became arrogant, gathering a group of people who had escaped from the police cells and terrorizing Sixth Avenue!"

"None of the other thug groups dared clash with Vulture, because not only was he powerful, he also held grudges. Any thug or survivor who dared offend him would come to no good end! The last thug leader who offended him was hung from a utility pole in front of Sixth Avenue and burned into charcoal!"

As she spoke, Colin showed how familiar she was with Vulture.

But as she continued, Colin's expression suddenly turned ugly.

Because she remembered that she and Qin Ran had killed two of Vulture's men together last night.

Likewise, after hearing Colin's explanation, Qin Ran's expression was not much better.

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