The shrinking safe zone

They could earn points just by staying in the safe zone. Would the game really be that generous?

Why did it feel more like a trap?

As she analyzed the game's intentions, a circle of light suddenly appeared in the street. It started small, then gradually expanded outward.

A tiny interface appeared in midair, so small that anyone with poor eyesight would have trouble seeing it.

[0/1500]

[Countdown: 10 seconds]

The other players were still chatting and laughing.

"The rules only said we'd earn points by entering the safe zone. They didn't mention any goblins appearing, so there's nothing to worry about. Let's rest a little longer."

"Only ten points every five minutes? So stingy!"

"I'm so thirsty. Did anyone bring water?"

Xin Jiu was speechless at how relaxed they were. This was a game where people could die. How did they dare let their guard down?

The countdown began ticking away.

Some players had already entered the safe zone, and Xin Jiu noticed the player count changing.

[362/1500]

[785/1500]

She immediately stood up and told the old man and the ponytailed girl, "Get into the safe zone. Hurry."

Seeing Xin Jiu move, the others started running too. Following a big shot's lead was always the right choice.

For a moment, nearly everyone was running toward the safe zone fifty meters away.

Xin Jiu was confident in her speed. She glanced back at the old man and the ponytailed girl. Good, neither had fallen behind. Otherwise, they'd be done for.

The players who had tried to snatch Xin Jiu's biscuits sat on the ground, grinning.

"She looked pretty impressive killing goblins. Who knew she was actually a coward?"

"There aren't even any goblins chasing her. What's she running so fast for?"

"Haha, female players will be female players. Not a scrap of courage."

Xin Jiu stepped into the circle of light.

[1276/1500]

[Countdown ended.]

Chattering noises sounded in the street again, accompanied this time by a scraping, grating sound.

"Goblins!"

"They're back!"

"Run!"

The goblins were still the same goblins.

Only their weapons had changed from wooden clubs to spiked maces.

The scraping, grating sound she had just heard came from their spiked maces dragging against the ground.

The players who had mocked Xin Jiu panicked and scrambled toward the safe zone. A few were so nervous that they tripped and fell.

These goblins were clearly much faster than the ones carrying wooden clubs. They covered over ten meters in the blink of an eye.

Xin Jiu watched the players run toward her in terror.

Then the safe zone's wall of light stopped them outside.

"Why can't I get in?"

"Let me in!"

"They're coming!"

[1500/1500]

The safe zone had reached its capacity.

The players trapped outside the circle of light sobbed and screamed. Then the goblins swung their spiked maces and struck them hard in the head.

Blood splattered. Xin Jiu heard skulls cracking.

The game didn't warn the players that goblins would appear. It waited until they relaxed before releasing them.

That left the players who couldn't enter the safe zone with no choice but to fight them.

The ponytailed girl patted her chest in lingering fear. "Good thing we got in. Otherwise, we'd be the ones fighting."

"I don't mean to discourage you, but it's too early to relax," Xin Jiu said.

The nearby players all looked over.

"What do you mean?"

"The system said it would hand out points every five minutes. Do you think it'll let us earn those ten points that easily?"

"I don't understand."

Xin Jiu guessed, "I'm afraid the safe zone will shrink once the five minutes are up."

[We're screwed. I think Jiujiu's analysis makes a lot of sense!]

[That's so underhanded. Won't it even let the players rest?]

[Jiujiu, make sure you stay safe.]

The old man and the ponytailed girl's expressions changed drastically. Every player who heard their conversation began moving toward the center of the zone, whether they believed her or not.

Sure enough, when the five minutes were up, the players first received their points. Immediately afterward, the circle of light shrank rapidly.

The safe zone's capacity dropped to 1,200.

Some players were still celebrating their points when the wall of light shut them out.

"What's going on? Why can't I get in?!"

"Let me in! Let me in!"

"Stay away!!"

The goblins swung their spiked maces at them without hesitation.

The other players inside the circle caught on. Did that mean the safe zone would shrink again in another five minutes?

Three hundred people had just been eliminated from the zone.

What about next time?

Would it be four hundred or five hundred?

Everyone desperately squeezed toward the very center, shoving one another. Some even started fighting.

Just then, Xin Jiu spotted a goblin wearing a red hat among the horde. It was noticeably bigger than the other goblins.

Goblins that wore hats were minor chiefs within their tribes.

Killing one gave a chance of obtaining an item.

After hesitating for only a few seconds, Xin Jiu made her decision.

She put the attribute point she had just received from the achievement into agility.

[Strength: 16]

[Agility: 20 → 21]

[Perception: 29]

[Stamina: 72%]

She had actually wanted to put it into strength, but these goblins were too fast. She couldn't afford to move slower than them.

After allocating the attribute point, Xin Jiu drew her M9 bayonet and made to rush out of the circle.

The old man was scared out of his wits and grabbed her. "Little one, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to kill that goblin."

Everyone had seen the goblin in the red hat.

Perhaps the slaughter on the field had excited it. It bounced from side to side, waving its spiked mace and making gurgling cries.

"It's too dangerous! You can't go!"

The ponytailed girl grabbed her too. "You can still earn points by staying in the safe zone. Don't risk it."

"I have to go."

The two wanted to keep persuading her, but Xin Jiu had already broken free of their hands and stepped outside the circle.

When one player left, another could enter.

The young man nearest to her darted inside and sat on the ground, gasping for breath before bursting into tears of joy.

The players inside the safe zone all thought Xin Jiu had gone mad.

The fans watching the livestream also erupted into heated discussion.

When the goblins saw her come out, they swarmed toward her with raucous cries, swinging their spiked maces to attack.

With the extra agility, Xin Jiu felt much lighter on her feet.

She nimbly dodged the goblins and rushed toward the minor chief. It had been enjoying itself when it spotted a red figure racing toward it.

With a bayonet in hand.

It stopped gurgling and instead bared its teeth, growling at Xin Jiu.

So ugly.

And stinky, too.

Xin Jiu hated ugly things most. Tightening her grip on the bayonet, she raced toward it.

Perhaps it sensed the threat she posed.

The minor chief waved its spiked mace and began gurgling again.

All the ordinary goblins nearby converged on its position.

Was he giving orders?

Then there was all the more reason not to let it live.

During the open beta, Xin Jiu had killed plenty of goblins and knew where their weaknesses lay. As for minor chiefs... she had killed a dozen or twenty of those, too.

Practice made perfect, more or less.

The spiked mace whistled through the air toward her face.

Xin Jiu bent her knees and leaned backward, dodging a blow that would certainly have sent blood spraying from her nose if it landed.

When the minor chief saw that it had missed, it jumped up in fury.

As she closed in on the minor chief, Xin Jiu killed another dozen or so goblins. Seeing its subordinates' skulls pierced, the minor chief grew afraid.

A chief was a chief. It even had emotions.

It ran toward the ruins beside the street.

Xin Jiu chased after it.