The Warty Toad Necklace!

"The first crate I've found today."

Su Ye pushed open the car door and, with a thought, equipped a hand crossbow in his left hand and a Desert Eagle in his right.

He held a weapon in each hand, a bullet chambered and a bolt loaded.

After all, while these Supply Crates could yield good loot, there was also a substantial chance of a monster emerging.

Walking up to it, Su Ye gently flipped the Supply Crate open with the toe of his shoe.

"Click."

The instant the lid sprang open, there were no glittering supplies. Instead, an incredibly dense cloud of gray fog erupted from the crate like a fountain.

"A monster!"

Su Ye raised an eyebrow and swiftly backed away without the slightest panic.

Zhou Chang had told him that gray fog coming out of a Supply Crate meant a monster was about to appear.

Before the monster emerged, however, there would be a three-second delay specifically to let players prepare.

The gray fog churned violently in midair, vaguely outlining a huge, bloated figure as a nauseating stench washed over him.

"Whoosh..."

The gray fog burst apart.

A Big-Headed Toad as tall as an adult appeared, its entire body covered in disgusting, poisonous growths.

Its enormous eyes gleamed with a savage red light, fixed on Su Ye, who had retreated over ten meters away.

But Su Ye merely watched. Thanks to the Gray Fog Medal, it did not attack him unprovoked.

Su Ye smiled at the sight, put away his Desert Eagle, and took out another hand crossbow before approaching the Big-Headed Toad.

A literal stare-down between big eyes and small ones.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Four bolts flashing with cold light shot out, leaving afterimages in their wake.

"Squelch! Squelch!"

Perfect headshots!

All four bolts pierced the Big-Headed Toad's enormous eyes without resistance, driving straight into its brain.

"Croak..."

The Big-Headed Toad stiffened and let out a brief, agonized cry as its health bar instantly emptied.

With a dull thud, the Big-Headed Toad's corpse hit the ground, then dissolved into a cloud of ash.

Only three softly glowing orbs remained.

An instant kill!

"Looks like it was only a Zero-Tier monster. Not even worth firing a bullet at."

Su Ye put away his weapons, strode over to the three glowing orbs, and reached out to collect them.

[Obtained: Purified Water ×1.]

[Obtained: Whole Wheat Bread ×1.]

The first two orbs contained basic survival supplies, which Su Ye casually tossed into his Storage Ring.

When his hand touched the third orb, its glow faded, revealing a peculiar necklace in his palm with a miniature toad pendant.

[Warty Toad Necklace]

[Tier]: Zero-Tier

[Attribute]: Spirit +1

[Description]: Its name might be lame and its design ugly, but it really can make you a little more spirited.

"It's actually equipment."

Su Ye's eyes lit up. Although it only added one point to his Mental Attribute, it was already quite valuable to him.

After all, his Mental Attribute was only 3.1 right now. With this necklace, it would break four.

Su Ye put the necklace around his neck.

The instant it touched his skin, a cool sensation even stronger than the one from eating Mutant Snake Meat surged straight into his head.

Su Ye felt as though his brain had been washed in a basin of ice water. All his fatigue and tension vanished, and his thoughts became quicker than ever.

He glanced at his status panel: Physique 4.9, Spirit 4.1.

Now, he was only a little short of the Fivefold Race's starting line.

"Tch. I've worked my ass off, and I still haven't even caught up to the Fivefold Race's starting line."

"Thank goodness I've got Great Xia helping me. Otherwise, with the survival difficulty the Fivefold Race faces, I wouldn't even last the first day."

Su Ye turned toward the car, pulled open the door, and got back on the road.

"Vroom!"

The engine roared, and the car became a streak of lightning, continuing its mad dash toward the end of the highway.

Time passed slowly, and soon it was noon.

Su Ye had not been idle that morning. He had encountered three monsters roaming the highway and opened three Supply Crates.

All three monsters were low-level, Zero-Tier creatures. He had dealt with them using only the Scale-Breaking Blade, without even needing his hand crossbow.

Killing those monsters and opening the three Supply Crates had not brought him any worthwhile surprises.

Aside from the Warty Toad Necklace, his best haul was fifty units of fuel.

Everything else was basic lumber, plastic bottles, and a few pieces of dry, shriveled bread.

Su Ye held the steering wheel with one hand. With his current Physique, he did not feel particularly hungry.

Still, the monotonous scenery along the wilderness highway made him decide to take a break.

Just as he was about to slow down and pull over to the edge of the road, his gaze suddenly sharpened.

Through the windshield, he spotted an abandoned factory beside the highway ahead.

Its sheet-metal roof was mottled with rust, and dead vines covered its walls, giving it an air of utter decay and desolation.

But it was not the factory itself that caught Su Ye's attention.

Rather, six figures stood ramrod straight in the clearing outside it.

In this Survival Game, where danger lurked everywhere and monsters ran rampant, a Fivefold Race player would probably have treated the sudden appearance of other living beings as a serious threat.

Su Ye's eyes, however, lit up.

As he drew closer, he could clearly see the clothes those six people wore.

They were the distinctive camouflage uniforms of Great Xia Soldiers.

Although their uniforms were stained with plenty of dust and blood, their ingrained military bearing and posture were unmistakable.

"Didn't expect to run into my own people again so soon."

The trace of fatigue in Su Ye's heart instantly vanished.

Without hesitation, he stepped on the gas and drove straight to the stretch of highway outside the factory, where he stopped.

Before he even opened the door, Su Ye's left hand had already closed around the cold Desert Eagle.

Even knowing they were very likely his own people, vigilance was necessary in an apocalyptic environment like this.

Seeing the car stop, the six soldiers in camouflage immediately turned their attention toward it.

Then a burly man with a resolute face, the leader of the six, stepped forward and bellowed, "Password!"

"Prairie fire!" Su Ye replied.

The man's expression turned solemn, and he immediately answered, "Spark!"

The passwords matched.

Su Ye lowered his guard and put the Desert Eagle into his Storage Ring. At the same time, he deactivated the Illusionary Form Mask, returning to his original appearance, then pushed open the car door and stepped out with a smile.

"Hello, Comrade Su Ye. My name is Li Xin. I'm in charge of making contact with you this time."

Li Xin strode up, came to a halt, and saluted before shaking Su Ye's hand.

"Sorry for the trouble, comrades," Su Ye said with a nod.

"Comrade Su Ye, after discussion, the leadership has decided to focus its assistance to you on three areas for now." Li Xin wasted no words and got straight to business.

Su Ye's expression grew serious, and he listened attentively.