Firearm: Colt M1911A1

"Deal!" the man called out.

Before Yu Yuan could celebrate, a hand reached out from the doorway and pointed at his feet. "But I want those!"

Yu Yuan paused, took half a step back, and glanced down.

Only then did he notice a small cut in the cloth crossbody bag across his chest. He had no idea when it had happened.

Two packets of Weiwei Soy Milk Powder had fallen onto the floor.

That downward slash must have cut it open! Yu Yuan realized.

Still, the man's demand surprised him. The soy milk powder was decent and nutritious, but why ask for it specifically?

Then Yu Yuan's gaze settled on the man's wrist.

A pink hair tie... Yu Yuan began to understand.

"All right. But I can give you ten packets at most. I need them too."

After two seconds of silence, the man gave a slight nod.

"Fine!"

They had a deal.

Yu Yuan carefully placed ten packets of soy milk powder on the ground.

"Move out of the way. Once I'm gone, they're yours."

The man nodded faintly and retreated, keeping himself hidden.

Yu Yuan lowered his Hand Crossbow. He could still fire back, but he no longer looked as threatening.

They moved apart, one ahead of the other. A few seconds later, Yu Yuan had left the stairwell. The apartment building's entrance was close by, and the man had taken cover behind a wall.

Too bad. He's too cautious. No chance to take him out, Yu Yuan thought with a sigh.

Seeing the wary look in the man's eyes, Yu Yuan nodded slightly and switched off his Flashlight. Darkness swallowed the building again.

The instant the lights went out, Yu Yuan shot forward like an arrow, burst out of Phoenix Tree Apartments, and vanished into the shadows of the street.

He was carrying two backpacks, and the street was pitch-black.

But with Dim-Light Vision, Yu Yuan moved as if guided by automatic navigation, dodging every obstacle just before he hit it.

After running a few dozen meters, he stopped abruptly and crouched behind a trash can, holding perfectly still.

His ears picked up every sound, and his Hand Crossbow stayed ready to fire.

A few screams came from behind him. They continued for more than a minute before silence finally fell.

He dared not linger. He immediately made his way toward the dental clinic. Now and then, gunshots rang out in the distance, only to fade as quickly as they came.

The return trip went relatively smoothly.

Just as he opened the Sewer manhole cover, thunder cracked overhead. A raindrop landed on his arm, and he frowned.

There was no time to worry about it. He climbed into the Sewer at once and replaced the cover.

He waited in the shadows five meters away. Only after five minutes had passed with no sign of anyone following him did he put away his Hand Crossbow and head for the Hideout.

The patches of skin touched by rain began to sting faintly. He switched on his Flashlight and saw that they had turned slightly red.

"Acid rain, just as I thought. This environment really is brutal." He frowned.

Fortunately, he had made it back in time and caught only a little rain. It was nothing serious, but he would have to disinfect his skin when he got back.

As usual, he checked the warning traps around the Hideout. Nothing was amiss.

Yu Yuan pushed open the wooden door, set down his backpacks, and lit a windproof candle, illuminating the Hideout.

Only when he collapsed onto the floor did he notice how badly his muscles ached.

The battle of wits and the fighting, followed by the constant vigilance of retreating with a full load of supplies, had been grueling for a modern man who had only just entered the Wasteland. He was mentally exhausted.

But looking at the supplies on the floor and his two full backpacks, Yu Yuan felt it had all been worth it.

He opened the Virtual Light Screen.

The moment he escaped Phoenix Tree Apartments, a notification had sounded in his ear, but he hadn't had time to check it.

He wondered what it had said. Had his ranking gone up again?

He turned the question over in his mind.

When he read the message on the Light Screen, his eyes lit up...

[Detected: Player negotiated, resolved a crisis, and withdrew safely]

[Excellent Grade skill acquired: Persuasion. Reward: 200 Survival Points]

"That works too?" Yu Yuan found it hard to believe.

Sure enough, under skills on the [Combat] page, a new skill had appeared alongside his Common Grade Lockpicking skill.

—Persuasion (Excellent)

Skill effect (passive): When discussing, negotiating, or communicating with others, you can more easily detect shifts in their thinking and flaws in their words. The chance of them accepting your position increases by 30%.

Yu Yuan sat bolt upright.

"So that's how it works!"

In the Wasteland Game, combat was far more than simply fighting and killing. Psychological games, verbal deception, exploiting gaps in knowledge, steering people with intelligence—anything he could think of was possible.

That gave him countless options, but it also made survival much harder.

As the saying went, nothing was harder to predict than the human heart.

I'll have to be more careful with every step from now on!

Acquiring a new skill—a passive one at that—and earning another 200 Survival Points put Yu Yuan in an excellent mood.

He took down every supply he had listed on Taotao Cave.

He laid the mattress directly on the floor and tossed the bedding onto it. At least he had somewhere to rest now.

But he and his belongings were covered in blood and grime. He had entered the Wasteland Game only that afternoon, yet he already looked like a vagrant.

Forcing himself to keep going, he began sorting through the day's haul.

Yu Yuan also found a bullet hole in his backpack, a dent in the adjustable wrench inside it, and a bullet flattened against the wrench.

A chill ran through him.

That had been far too close! The wrench had saved his life. Behind it were a hand-crank Lighting radio and a car first-aid kit, but expecting either of those to stop a bullet would have been wishful thinking. At most, they might have slowed it down.

The most valuable supplies were the hand-crank Lighting radio, the car first-aid kit, the cigarettes, and Brother Biao's pistol.

But the pistol was what interested him most.

Information about it appeared on the Virtual Light Screen.

Colt M1911A1

Type: Pistol

Firing mode: Single shot

Effective range: 50 meters

Ammunition: .45 ACP

Magazine capacity: 7 rounds

The Colt M1911A1 was a classic firearm featured in plenty of films, television shows, and games. As a hardcore looter-shooter player, Yu Yuan knew it well.

He checked the magazine and chamber.

Only one round remained, already chambered.

He ejected it, then took out the items he had found on Brother Biao. Among them was a small bag of .45 ACP ammunition. There were only five rounds.

He loaded all five into the magazine, along with the round he had ejected.

Yu Yuan gazed at the weapon in his hand, delighted.

Guns were a man's dream. In a Wasteland World like this, having one made him feel safe!

But when he caught the smell of gunpowder on the pistol and noticed the grime in its crevices, he frowned.

When he had the chance, he needed to find proper gun oil and cleaning lubricant to clean and maintain it.

Otherwise, it would be a nasty joke if the gun jammed at a critical moment in a fight!

He set the pistol aside and turned to the remaining supplies.