Chapter 112

"Heh, rope's basically worthless now."

"Exactly! With the higher drop rate on the highway, even two-star supply boxes give you rope, let alone three-star ones. Compared to rope, items are way harder to come by!"

"It only fools newbies. Veterans wouldn't trade an item for rope. Who would? They'll regret it later!"

"This Lin Tu must be insane. Where did she get all her starting supplies? Probably scammed someone with item cards, right? Now that she knows how important items are, she's trying to trade rope for other people's items."

Lin Tu was checking her private messages. She'd spotted a player with an item card she wanted and was about to propose a trade when that player suddenly backed out, claiming his item card was extremely precious and that trading it for her rope crafting blueprint was pure fraud.

Lin Tu: "?" The rope crafting blueprint was equivalent in value to a pale white card—wasn't that [Carve a Path]'s own pricing?

Puzzled, she followed the player's pointed finger to the regional channel, and only then saw the argument raging there.

For some reason, someone named "Lan Yanzhen" had made a vague remark on the channel, and then a crowd of self-proclaimed veterans chimed in agreeing with her, saying Lin Tu was indeed running a scam.

Lin Tu let out a cold laugh, almost chuckling.

"You guys don't need to do this. A rope crafting blueprint isn't rope itself—it's more than enough for a pale white item. If anything, Lin Tu might be the one getting the short end. Rope is an early-game necessity. I'd advise everyone not to be led around by a few so-called veterans."

"Oh dear, that's true. Everyone, don't keep badmouthing Sister Lin Tu. She means well. Sister Lin is a new player too—maybe she really needs items, or maybe she doesn't realize ordinary players need items more. Everyone, stop scolding her."

"She's a con artist! I almost traded with her just now—good thing I pulled out in time! This young lady... young man thinks too well of people."

Lin Tu: "..." Did this person even see who was the good guy and who was the bad guy?

The second commenter said she was also a new player and didn't understand items or rope, clearly trying to subtly drag her down, painting her as someone snatching items from ordinary players. And this person had the nerve to call himself good-hearted?

Lin Tu took a closer look at his ID—"Li Haohao," huh. She'd remember that.

As for the one who'd spoken up for her, warning new players not to blindly follow the veterans—that was someone with real decency.

Lin Tu glanced at her ID: "Lu Zhu." It looked familiar somehow.

Lin Tu reached out to poke her directly: "Want to buy the blueprint?"

The other party hadn't expected Lin Tu to approach her for a trade, and said sincerely, "I'd like to, but I'm still using my current pale white item myself."

"Take it on credit. Buy or not?"

"Are you sure? Not afraid I won't pay you back?" Lu Zhu was a bit taken aback, but seeing Lin Tu's earnestness, she said, "That three-star supply box came from upgrading your SUV, right? A three-star box isn't going to fall from the sky again—this is probably the most valuable thing you have right now, maybe for a long time. Are you sure you want to sell it? You could keep it for yourself, make rope from cloth and sell it. Early players are desperate for rope—you could make way more money that way."

Lin Tu was silent for a moment. "I'm sure I want to sell it. I can't be bothered to make rope."

Her ultimate goal was all sorts of items. Even if she made rope, selling a few strands per player would only earn her a few bottles of water or chunks of wood—how much volume would she need to match the value of a pale white item?

That "can't be bothered" completely threw Lu Zhu off. She'd considered all kinds of reasons, but never this one. After a pause, she said, "Alright. I'll definitely pay you back."

Lin Tu completed the trade quickly. Seeing the rope crafting blueprint sold, the regional chat quieted down.

The lighter still had no buyers for now, but the desert cooled fast at night. With only wood and no way to start a fire, lighters would soon become a necessity. Lin Tu wasn't worried about selling it.

"By the way, one more thing," Lin Tu asked. "Why did you say the second-night no-driving task must never be attempted?"

"You're a new player, right?" Lu Zhu didn't hold back. "I've been through [Carve a Path] twice. This game has a rule: players aren't allowed to travel at night. No matter what kind of disaster, the second stretch of road always has this no-night-driving task."

"People used to try it anyway, and then they went silent. Apparently there was a veteran who once succeeded, and then for the rest of that game, a monster came to find him every single night, whether he went out at night or not. In the end, he did clear the game, but in the next round, he was never seen again."

Lin Tu: There's a benefit like that? A monster delivering a supply box to me every night?

After getting the details from Lu Zhu, she felt a bit more at ease. At least a veteran had cleared it—it wasn't some death sentence the moment you provoked it. After saying goodbye to Lu Zhu, Lin Tu turned off the light screen.

The two kilometers was just a stomp on the gas for the SUV, but to keep to nighttime driving, Lin Tu planned to pull over for a while and get some sleep first. She'd wake up after dark and then continue—jumping from 11 PM in the real world straight into daytime had really left her needing a nap.

Ducking through the middle wooden door, Lin Tu returned to her cozy little cabin, checked the clock—it was 2 PM.

She looked at her phone. The other players had already pushed their carts from the unknown stretch to the second highway. Two kilometers—fast, half an hour; slow, an hour. They could easily drive during the day and sidestep the night-driving task. That was probably the game's intent—using this task that would never trigger as a warning: don't drive at night!

Only Lin Tu, and the other stubborn ones, would wait until night to drive.

Lin Tu instructed the players to take a photo each time they reached a new stretch and share the road info and new tasks. Then she tossed her phone aside and closed her eyes.

The next time she woke, it was the Butler calling her.

It was 7 PM—one hour until night.

The Butler had dutifully parked the car next to a supply box. As soon as she woke, Lin Tu cheerfully braved the less scorching sun to open a one-star supply box first, getting five pieces of cloth and a loaf of bread.

She then prepared dinner. Sunset was near, and Lin Tu planned to enjoy a romantic hotpot under the desert sunset.

A hotpot required almost no prep. Lin Tu dragged a table next to the car, set the portable stove and pot on it, tossed in the hotpot base, poured in a full basin of water, then grabbed some beef rolls from the fridge. She still had some fresh fish slices from the last disaster stored in the time-frozen cabinet. She added braised chicken feet, braised duck feet, fish balls and beef balls, sliced some potatoes, cut some yam chunks, plucked a few greens, and in about half an hour, everything was ready.

Lin Tu sat in a lounge chair, watching the sun sink toward the western horizon. For once, she didn't put on a show but watched the light screen instead.

The fastest players had already reached the fourth stretch, with the frontrunners earning commendations and a two-star supply box.

The slower ones were still on the third stretch. Many were discussing the tasks on these two roads—the third was mostly active tasks, take-it-or-leave-it, while the fourth was mostly passive tasks, where you got entangled the moment you entered. So almost no one dared to enter the fifth stretch. Nightfall was coming, and even a veteran who barged in rashly would be done for if they hit a passive task.

But whether they did tasks or not, everyone had to pass through these stretches, and they'd all accumulated plenty of one-star supply boxes. The hoard was growing steadily.

Most people had just upgraded to windproof pushcarts, trudging forward on foot, while the best off had covered three-wheelers they pedaled with their feet. Upgrading to a small SUV required hundreds of units of glass, metal, and wood. Pushing or carrying bread, water, and daily necessities was one thing—but glass, metal, and wood? Each unit was a massive block. Hundreds piled up couldn't fit on a cart. In the sweltering desert, pushing and hauling all that would be a death sentence!

It was only now that players realized how important the small backpack was. It was an absolute essential! And rope, the key material for the small backpack, was finally taken seriously.

That was when everyone discovered that rope was nowhere near as easy to get as they'd imagined!

Never mind two-star boxes dropping rope—they'd be lucky to even encounter a two-star box! The first four stretches only had one-star boxes lining the road, which could never drop rope. The rare two-star box they found gave them glucose rehydration drinks, flower pots, blankets, tissues... all sorts of things, but never rope!

Without rope, no small backpack! Without a backpack, more effort pushing the cart! More effort means slower progress and more exhaustion—a vicious cycle!

On the trading post, rope was in desperate demand!

Lu Zhu started making rope then. She was kind-hearted, but that didn't mean she'd pass up easy profit.

One piece of cloth made one rope, listed on the trading platform for two pieces of cloth plus a loaf of bread or a bottle of water. That netted her one piece of cloth plus one supply item—hardly exploitative!

She listed one every time she made one, roughly once every three minutes, never slacking.

But even so, the masses on the trading platform were starving, scrambling frantically. Lu Zhu was the only stable rope source on the entire platform. They could only fight over her listings, but items vanished within a second—how could they get rope to make backpacks?

Some players suggested Lu Zhu sell in bulk and raise prices so ordinary players couldn't snatch them.

Lu Zhu thought it over—that made sense. Once she'd stockpiled enough cloth, she focused entirely on making rope and stopped selling.

When she'd made forty ropes, she dumped them all onto the trading platform at once, priced at one pale white item, and finally let out a breath. She knew the veterans' purchasing power. Forty ropes sat right at the edge of just enough—enough to make them willing to pool white items for it—so Lu Zhu had no doubt the rope would sell. The veterans would scrape together the money.

This unusual pricing also reminded everyone of something from earlier that day: a rope crafting blueprint had been listed, also priced at one pale white item. Back then, lots of people had mocked the player who'd listed it. In hindsight, that player was more than just a good person!

"Why didn't I buy it back then?!" a message popped in the regional channel. "I was this close to completing that trade! If I'd bought it, I'd be Lu Zhu right now, raking in who knows how much!"

"Good fortune doesn't enter the door of those who can't hold it! Those veterans just wanted to drive the price down and suppress you—and you believed them?"

The man was full of regret but helpless. "It's all that Lan Yanzhen's fault! Next time Lin Tu puts out a blueprint for a pale white item, I'm definitely trading!"

Nobody paid him any attention, though—everyone was discussing who'd take the big deal.

"Idiot. Lin Tu hasn't even reached the fourth stretch yet. Where would she get another blueprint? The next blueprint is mine. You want to buy it? Dream on!" Lan Yanzhen watched the channel chatter, chuckled to herself, swiped away the light screen, and opened a private chat with Li Haohao. "Did you buy the rope?"

"Bought it. Used Old Xu's pale white item—he said I owe him one later."

"Just a pale white item. Only fools haggle over that."

"Exactly!" Li Haohao chimed in on her behalf. "If not for Sister Lan, they'd already be dead in some ditch!"

Lan Yanzhen hummed in acknowledgment. "Distribute the rope to everyone. Get some rest. Tomorrow morning, we charge into the fifth stretch. From here on, we leave everyone in the dust!"

Li Haohao quickly replied, "Yes, Sister Lan! Stay warm tonight!~"

This time, he got no response.

The temperature plummeted at night. The scorching heat that had baked everyone's brains turned in a flash into a cold that chipped at the bone.

After finishing her last slice of beef, Lin Tu leisurely turned off the flame and packed up.

The temperature was low, but she'd just thrown on a thick cotton coat, so she wasn't cold at all—in fact, she was slightly sweating from the hotpot.

The evening's drama was quite entertaining, especially watching those who'd mocked her now scrambling eagerly for rope, and that one who'd backed out of the trade now singing her praises as a quality seller. She almost wanted to laugh.

The pale white item from the trade with Lu Zhu had also arrived—"Defense +1: Vehicle Exclusive."

Better than nothing, Lin Tu thought. She pressed the card onto the small SUV and continued packing up.

She opened the trunk, lifted out a table, and was about to carry it back to the cabin when she suddenly caught sight of a faint, indistinct figure not far away, gently waving.

Under the bright moonlight, it seemed on the verge of vanishing at any moment—now near, now far, now bright, now dim.

Lin Tu immediately recalled the words on the road signs: it was said that when the night's yin energy was at its peak, lost souls wandering the desert, unable to find their way home, would appear by the roadside begging for a ride... but only those driving at night could see a figure waving at you...

"Butler! Drive!" Lin Tu instantly realized this was the wandering spirit she'd been looking for.

She shouted, and under the Butler's control, the small SUV slowly started up. Lin Tu jogged over, shoved the table into the cabin, slammed the trunk shut, then bounded to the driver's seat, yanked open the door, and flung herself inside.

"Don't run! I'll give you a ride!" Lin Tu yelled, stomping on the gas.

The conditions for nighttime driving were met. Instantly, the figure solidified. As if finally welcoming its prey, it split its mouth into a grotesque grin reaching nearly half its face, leering at Lin Tu.

A chilling breeze blew from behind—no, that's the AC... no! She'd already switched the AC to heat!

Lin Tu handed the driving over to the Butler entirely and turned to meet those hollow, desiccated eyes shriveled to little beads.

But honestly, Lin Tu wasn't scared at all. She was a bit annoyed, actually—because this damn mummy, in order to pop out from behind her, had shoved its lower half into the wooden door, i.e., her home.

"Hey, why are you getting into my house?" Lin Tu was a little angry, looking at the sand and grit staining her clean floor. "What do you want?"

A hand of bare bone, but with bright red nail polish, slowly reached toward Lin Tu's face. It didn't cover her eyes, yet in an instant, her vision went pitch black, leaving only her own breathing.

"Ghost covering the eyes?" Lin Tu wondered.

"Whoa, the road ahead suddenly got twisty! And there are so many sand dunes! And holes!" the Butler shouted as Lin Tu was blinded, driving the small SUV with gusto across all kinds of terrain. Even with her eyes covered, Lin Tu could feel the bumps under her. "Save me! I'm just a smart butler! Not an intelligent all-terrain race car driver!"

Lin Tu: "...Just hold on a bit longer."

She quickly drew her long knife, reversing her grip so the tip pointed at herself. "Little Black!" Lin Tu called softly, and a small handful of metal dandelion seeds flew to her face, covering her eyes in a metallic mesh like an eyepatch.

With a light shake of the blade, the long knife pierced through the mummy's hands, stopping just before the metal mesh.

The next second, Lin Tu's vision returned.

The bumpy terrain in front vanished instantly, and the "pedestrian" who'd waved—the mummy that had covered her eyes from behind—thudded heavily into the gap between the driver and passenger seats. It was a three-star supply box.

"Any more danger?" the Butler shivered.

"No," Lin Tu said, gesturing for it to check ahead with its electronic eyes. "You did well just now. We cleared tonight's night-driving task. We should be safe now. Keep driving forward and alert me when you see a supply box."

The Butler agreed, relieved.

Lin Tu opened the three-star supply box, revealing: "Metal ×50, Electronic Components ×20, Pork ×500g, Charcoal Crafting Blueprint ×1, Quick-Dry Underwear ×1."

Among the pile, the item that drew Lin Tu's eye was still the card glowing pale white. Lost in thought, she took off her coat, revealed her thermal vest, and pressed the quick-dry underwear card onto it. A faint light flashed, and the card vanished—the underwear must have gained a quick-dry property.

Lin Tu was satisfied. She felt she still needed an awful lot of items.

Then she turned her attention to the charcoal crafting blueprint.

The nighttime temperature was nearly minus forty degrees. With her AC, thermal vest, and thick cotton coat, she felt it was just manageable—she couldn't imagine how those with only windproof pushcarts or three-wheeled carts could survive such cold.

This was what wood was for. The lighter could ignite wood into a campfire for warmth. That's why, as soon as night fell and the temperature dropped, players immediately traded for lighters with items. Of course, the more common ignition methods were matches and flint—many bought those on the trading platform yesterday, but that's a story for another time...

Wood burned inefficiently. In comparison, charcoal provided more heat and burned longer, and could even be taken into the vehicle, letting players survive the night safely.

—Charcoal's value was immeasurable.

Lin Tu was tempted to keep the charcoal crafting blueprint for herself. She'd seen yesterday how Lu Zhu had built her fortune selling rope.

But after reading the blueprint's detailed description, she vetoed the idea.

Charcoal required the player to dig a pit in the sand and burn wood into charcoal, staying perfectly still the whole time—with exact instructions on how often to flip the charcoal out.

Lin Tu: She'd sell it after all.

She first asked the players if anyone needed it. Since Lin Tu had mentioned she'd investigate the night-driving task, the players were all still waiting for her news. So when Lin Tu asked, everyone replied promptly—of course, like Lin Tu, they were tempted, but staying in one place without moving forward was another matter entirely.

The Endless Desert's time was easy to overlook. Even if you stayed put forever, survival conditions would only worsen as time passed.

Dong Huadan, as a professional merchant, nearly bought it—but she held back. She was confident she could make money on it, but not confident it would outearn sticking with Lin Tu. All in all, she trusted Lin Tu's judgment.

"Then I'll list it," Lin Tu said, mulling it over. This blueprint was worth about two pale white items, with some room to adjust—she decided to list it at three pale white items.

After listing the item, she felt a weight off her shoulders. She took out the item she'd gotten from selling the lighter earlier—

"Hiking Socks: Quick-Dry, Breathable, Sand-Resistant, Sweat-Wicking."

Lin Tu pulled off her old socks, put on the new pair, and slipped on her sneakers. Right on cue, the car stopped again.

"Guess what? Another one-star supply box~"

The wretched Butler had picked up some terrible internet slang while she was watching videos, getting all slick-tongued.

Expressionless, Lin Tu got out, braved the biting wind, grabbed the supply box, and remembered how honest and cute the Butler used to be.

After collecting two more one-star supply boxes in a row, Lin Tu finally entered the third stretch, "A1JRS24," lagging behind the others. As before, two different roads stretched ahead, but this time the exit was a full 15,000 meters away.

Just as the regional channel said, the third stretch was still active tasks—

"Warning! A traveler who lost her wallet is wandering this road. Head bowed, she searches endlessly for her wallet. Where is it? Where is it? All her money and treasure! Can you guess why she can't find it? If you guess right, be sure to kindly tell her~ She'll give you all the money from her wallet!"