Player Reactions and the Street Rat Title

Yu Yuan suddenly realized his understanding of the Wasteland game had been far too narrow.

Perhaps the Hideout Rankings were not as simple as he had imagined.

Title paths? Does that mean there are many paths? I've only just unlocked one, and with 100 achievement points, my ranking jumped 141 places. What titles have the players higher up earned?

Yu Yuan had no way of knowing.

He could not view other players' information. He had tried as soon as he entered the Wasteland.

It made sense. From the conversations in the chat channel, it was clear that players competed with one another. Some were even enemies.

Once the Beginner Protection Period ended, the people most eager to kill him would probably be Survivors with bad intentions.

This was no Wasteland World. It was a breeding ground where only the deadliest would survive.

While Yu Yuan pondered the title path he had unlocked, a stir spread through the chat channel.

The bottom of the Hideout Rankings—places 9,000 to 10,000—held the weakest players and had the highest rates of elimination and death. In the eyes of veteran players, they were the most tempting prey.

Every newcomer who left the protection period drew several, dozens, or even hundreds of veterans eager to claim them.

So not long after Yu Yuan's ranking changed, the veterans who constantly scanned the bottom of the rankings for targets to invade noticed something.

The newcomer who had entered the game today had vanished from last place.

The players who had already marked him for plunder were dumbfounded.

Wait!

Where was he?

Not in the bottom fifty!

Still not in the bottom hundred!

When they finally found that familiar name at 9,859, the veterans were stunned!

[Burning Chariot Shelter: Holy shit, am I seeing things? Didn't Fish Abyss Shelter enter the Wasteland just a few hours ago? How did its ranking jump 141 places?]

[Sea Cube Shelter: Are we sure that's a newcomer? Could it be some big shot? It's only been a few hours, and they're already at 9,859? I'm still at 9,914!]

[Hive Shelter: Interesting. @Fish Abyss Shelter, did you unlock some Rare path? Come on, share it with everyone!]

[Moss Hut Shelter: Yeah! @Fish Abyss Shelter, tell us how you did it! If you found any Rare Blueprints, equipment, or items, I'm ready to buy!]

[Lava Shelter: @Fish Abyss Shelter, same here. I can barely hold on in this hellhole. If you have a weapon or a tool good for digging, I'm ready to buy.]

[Grizzly Shelter: @Fish Abyss Shelter, I need food and water. I'm going to die. Help me, please help me.]

[Furious Whale Shelter: @Fish Abyss Shelter, don't trust @Moss Hut Shelter. He's a scammer who targets newcomers.]

[Moss Hut Shelter: @Furious Whale Shelter, you bastard, fuck your mother...]

In the chat channel, even the cost of 10 Survival Points per message could not curb the veterans' curiosity about Fish Abyss Shelter's sudden rise.

They were like sharks that had caught the scent of blood.

They did not care about a few Survival Points. They only cared whether they could pry valuable information from this newcomer.

The lower-ranked players understood better than anyone how hard it was to climb. For Fish Abyss Shelter to rise so far in one leap, he must either have found enough Survival Supplies to transform his situation,

or met some special condition and unlocked a Rare path that greatly increased his Hideout's potential.

Securing a special resource, forming ties with a key Faction, gaining a special ability—any of those could have done it.

They desperately wanted to know whether they could do the same.

They knew the odds were slim, but they still held out hope.

What if?

What if this newcomer was an idiot who cracked under the pressure and told them everything?

The relentless message alerts pulled Yu Yuan from his thoughts. He watched the chat flood with posts and felt the players' frenzy and desperation, as well as the calculation and greed beneath their words.

His expression remained calm, though a thoughtful look occasionally crossed his face.

A few minutes later, he closed the Light Screen.

The rush of emotion brought on by his climb in the rankings had subsided completely.

That huge leap told Yu Yuan he had found a fast track—one that was both right and unlike anyone else's.

But hidden dangers had come with it.

The veterans who had planned to hunt him in a month would now be even more interested in him.

Their first goal would be to find out why Fish Abyss Shelter had climbed so far.

Then they would seize every opportunity and resource it held before killing him.

That outcome was inevitable.

Yu Yuan looked at the Kukri strapped to his thigh. A fierce resolve flashed in his eyes.

10:53 p.m.

Dark clouds blanketed the sky. The air was heavy with moisture; rain was coming.

The entire city lay in darkness. Apart from the occasional gunshot in the distance, all was quiet.

If the daytime belonged to thugs, the night belonged to the "rats."

People who had spent the whole day hiding—Refugees, Scavengers, and Survivors—left their Shelters and moved silently through the city, searching and keeping out of sight.

They sought the food and resources they needed to stay alive.

Every scrap was precious here, and fights over supplies erupted in every corner of the night.

Fed and rested, Yu Yuan moved without a sound.

His gaze swept over every corner that might conceal danger, sharp as a blade, while his ears caught the faintest suspicious noise.

The streets were pitch-black. He could not have seen his hand in front of his face.

Yet Yu Yuan could still make out the rough outlines of objects.

It was far from perfect night vision, but it surpassed what an ordinary human could see in the dark.

His hearing had improved too. Rustles that had once been almost imperceptible now sounded a little clearer.

He owed it all to the title he had earned earlier—Street Rat.

Title: Street Rat

Quality: Excellent

Path: City Shadows

Effects: ① Hearing +15, smell +10. Gain Dim-Light Vision in dark environments; ② sense slight movements in the air within three meters through the fine hairs on the skin.

Yu Yuan had not expected the title's effects to be so immediately apparent.

With its help, his steps grew steadier. He always managed to slip around an obstacle just before colliding with it.

In the total darkness, he did not have to worry about anyone spotting him from afar. Before long, he was back near Phoenix Tree Apartments.

This time, he had brought only his backpack, Kukri, alloy Folding Crossbow, and dentist's Headlamp.

Unfortunately, after an afternoon and an evening of use, the Headlamp's battery was running low.

It still lit up, but its beam had grown dim.

I hope I find another light source soon. Even a battery would do, he thought with a quiet sigh.

Just as he was about to approach the entrance to Phoenix Tree Apartments, a faint yawn made his heart skip a beat.

A thought flashed through his mind:

Someone's here!!!