Rest

Qin Ran temporarily confirmed that he was safe.

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

"Follow me!"

Colin said.

Qin Ran immediately followed her deeper into the ruins.

After stepping over or crawling beneath several obstructing beams and bypassing several piles of rubble, a wooden hatch was revealed when Colin pushed aside the sand and dirt before her with her palm.

Without making a sound, Colin lifted the hatch, revealing a flight of stairs leading downward before Qin Ran.

"Come in!"

Colin turned sideways and gestured for Qin Ran to enter.

Qin Ran walked in without hesitation.

By the faint light, Qin Ran could already make out the scene 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 Colin came down, he quietly introduced himself.

"Hello, my name is Qin Ran!"

"Colin! Are you a soldier?"

She asked that question with scrutiny and undiminished vigilance in her eyes.

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

"No. I just usually liked martial arts... then they got put to practical use in this damned war! And I mean you no harm. I never have, from the beginning until now! You should understand that if I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't need to go through so much trouble!"

Qin Ran noticed her gaze and carefully presented the identity he had fabricated, explaining himself solemnly.

A soldier was not a good identity to have in wartime!

To enemies, they were people who had to be killed!

And to civilians, they deserved to die as well, whether the civilians were on their own side or the enemy's!

The ravages of war brought out the worst in people. Especially when one side held an absolute advantage, Qin Ran could easily imagine the atrocities Colin had witnessed from soldiers over the past four months.

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

So Qin Ran would never admit to being a soldier.

Without question, Qin Ran's answer had been absolutely correct.

Or perhaps his explanation had worked.

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

"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, but the others..."

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

"People can be good or bad."

Qin Ran picked up the thought.

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

They were simply appropriate words in an environment like this.

It was precisely because they were so appropriate that Colin temporarily accepted Qin Ran.

"In return 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 he wanted to ask for more information, it naturally would not be appropriate to ask now.

Even though this was only a game!

Everything was so incredibly real that Qin Ran understood that if he behaved in a way that did not fit the game's setting, a chain reaction would inevitably follow.

It might be good!

Or it might be bad!

And according to Qin Ran's experience,

the latter had a far greater chance of happening.

At the very least, he could not explain how someone who had lived through four months of war could be unfamiliar with the city before him.

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

It was entirely possible that he would even lose the shelter he had for the day!

Therefore, when Qin Ran saw Colin walk to a corner of the storage room, curl up there, and stop speaking, he went to the other side as well. Leaning against the wall, he sat down and narrowed his eyes slightly.

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

The strength he recovered with each breath kept him from feeling physically tired.

But his mental fatigue left Qin Ran unwilling to move at all.

The images of blood and the impact of death surfaced in his mind, utterly exhausting him.

Before long, Qin Ran fell completely asleep.

When a faint rustling 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. Judging from the open backpack beside her, the biscuits had come from last night's haul.

When Colin noticed Qin Ran looking over, her body stiffened.

Food held extraordinary value in times of war.

Bread and biscuits that would normally be tossed aside could trigger a fierce struggle at a time like this.

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

Qin Ran had long understood all this. When he saw Colin stiffen, he immediately signaled that he meant no harm and reached into his backpack for a can of food.

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

When both sides had food, the danger of a fight plummeted.

Neither of them spoke during breakfast.

Colin kept her head slightly lowered, apparently lost in thought.

Qin Ran, meanwhile, ate his canned food while checking the system log.

First, [Main Quest: Survive Seven Days, 0/7] had become [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 is doubled, and health 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 became a sigh.

Because the appearance of the special [Hunger] status 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.

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

Qin Ran looked at the two remaining cans and 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 while patting her chest with the other.

Obviously, dry biscuits were not easy to swallow.

"Have some water!"

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

Gulp! Gulp!

After twisting off the cap, Colin took two large gulps, draining a third of the bottle before finally letting out a long breath.

"Th-thank you!"

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

Food was indispensable during war.

Water was no different!

And in wartime, someone willing to share food or water could only mean that person was truly good.

Thus, faced with such a good person, Colin's attitude softened even further.

She also became willing to talk with Qin Ran.

And that was exactly what Qin Ran had been hoping for.

"What did you do before the war?"

Colin asked curiously.

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

Qin Ran spoke of his real-life experiences.

"I was a student too, but because of fighting, drinking, and some other things, I got thrown into a service center... Then, before I could finish two hundred hours of community service, the war broke out! At first, I was grateful that I no longer had to do community service, but now I'd rather do it for the rest of my life than be trapped here!"

After Qin Ran finished, Colin began talking about herself.

And she seemed somewhat unable to stop.

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

Qin Ran merely shrugged and continued listening to Colin.

People wore masks in daily life to protect themselves.

How much more so 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 would've thought that guy would come here too! Damn it! Bitch!"

"Vulture? Is that guy powerful?"

Hearing that nickname again, Qin Ran deliberately asked.

"Qin Ran, of course you wouldn't have heard of him elsewhere!"

Colin waved a hand and spoke directly.

"Before the war started, Vulture was just a petty thug! But after the war began, he happened to be locked up at a police station. Who knows what kind of damn luck he had, but he actually got hold of a batch of weapons! After the Rebel Army deliberately pulled back, that guy became arrogant. He gathered a group of people who had escaped from the police station cells and ran rampant across Sixth Avenue!"

"No other gang of thugs dares clash with Vulture, because not only is he powerful, he's also extremely vengeful. Any thug or survivor who dares offend him never ends well! 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 went on, Colin's expression suddenly darkened.

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

Likewise, after hearing Colin's explanation, Qin Ran's expression did not look much better either.