Chapter 010 Fresh Meat Protection Association

After all, bullets are limited, and the two of them didn’t want to waste too many shots. After getting used to the firearm, Xia Xinyan planned to take Ling Mo to find a place to spend the night.

To put it plainly, in this game, a lot of practice is nowhere near as effective as having one real battle—no amount of practice could increase the experience of dealing with sudden events, and the unexpected occurrences in this game are more numerous and unimaginable than on a real battlefield.

Accuracy was secondary; this kind of forest terrain is mostly close-quarters combat, and the effective range of a handgun is only about several dozen meters. Having a general aim is enough; there’s no need to pursue perfection.

The two hadn’t walked far when a virtual prompt suddenly popped up before all players in the game—

【News: The Fresh Meat Protection Association has landed on the island and will soon initiate attacks on all personnel deemed participants in this reality show. Please be cautious.】

【News: The Fresh Meat Protection Association has discovered supplies stored on the island and will soon begin protective operations.】

【Reward Task Activated: Killing a member of the Fresh Meat Protection Association will earn you 100 game points.】

Almost simultaneously, a voice broadcast echoed across the entire island—

“Defeat masculinity!! The world belongs to fresh meat!!”

The speaker was a woman, her tone filled with killing intent.

This should be a member of the Fresh Meat Protection Association.

Hearing the commotion, Ling Mo instinctively picked up his gun and scanned the surroundings vigilantly.

Xia Xinyan, however, was not too worried: “Relax, even if it’s a game, it follows basic rules. Since they’ve landed, they’re still a distance away from us.”

Although this is an island, it’s very large, and radar indicates that they are currently situated at the center of the island—at least for now, they are safe.

As for the second alert, it means that players wanting to continue obtaining supply rewards will find it tougher than the first batch… it shouldn’t even be called the first batch, merely supplies that are relatively closer to the player’s spawn point. If players haven’t realized this and have not secured any supply points beforehand, they might face a hellish start.

Ling Mo paused, then lowered his gun: “Killing an enemy gives 100 game points… should we try ambushing?”

“No need, they’ll come looking for us sooner or later,” Xia Xinyan shook her head and checked the time, “At the current triple time flow, it won’t be long before night falls. We should find a safe place to spend the night before dark.”

Player physical conditions also change based on the dungeon’s time flow, meaning their hunger and fatigue intervals speed up threefold. The game converts any factors that could affect player actions, including these, into more intuitive BUFF bars for players to check.

While there’s no health bar, these DEBUFFs will genuinely impact players and often more severely than in reality.

For instance, it was nearing evening, and Ling Mo was already starting to feel a bit hungry.

But the DEBUFF hadn’t shown up yet.

“I think… not resting at night should be fine?” Ling Mo pondered and suggested, “Staying up all night isn’t a big deal, plus knowing there are enemies outside, it’s likely we wouldn’t sleep soundly… why not take advantage of the night when visibility is low to stealthily go for a surprise attack? Maybe we’ll even get lucky.”

After a moment, as if he thought of something, he added, “And anyway, it’s a game; staying up doesn’t affect your skin or anything…”

Xia Xinyan: “…”

She couldn’t help but want to roll her eyes.

This guy… why is he so clueless?

That last sentence didn’t even need to be said! She hadn’t even thought of that, and he had to point it out. Thankfully, her mind wasn’t on that, nor did she care about such matters—but if a vain girl were in her place, do you think he wouldn’t get a direct exit from her?

This is an absolute taboo topic, you clueless idiot!

And even if it’s just a game, you can’t view everything solely through a gaming lens!

‘I don’t know who I am, I don’t know where I am, I just know I want to go on a killing spree’—players of this type often meet their demise at lightning speed in this game, you know?! Putting in a little thought based on reality wouldn’t hurt, you clueless idiot!

Yet even while internally fuming, she still wore a smile on the outside, held Ling Mo’s hand, and patiently began to explain: “Don’t forget we’re participating in a wilderness survival reality show right now. The actual threats aren’t just the Protection Association. The animals on this island might also pose a threat to us at night.”

Ling Mo froze: “Ah… sorry, I almost forgot about that.”

“No worries,” Xia Xinyan shook his hand, “Experience is learned gradually. No one starts as an expert. Just take it slow.”

Ling Mo couldn’t help but feel warmth in his heart.

Even a young lady… understands empathy like this…

Or perhaps… it’s because he’s here?

Thinking this, a surge of determination filled him.

Survival in the wilderness… speaking of which, he had watched quite a few related shows before. How did those people from the shows handle things back then?

“Hey? Isn’t there a cave over there?” Xia Xinyan suddenly spoke, pulling Ling Mo back from his thoughts.

Turning his head, he spotted what seemed to be an opening in the stone wall not far away.

“Let’s check that out; it might be a good place to sleep for the night.” Xia Xinyan drew her handgun and headed over first.

Ling Mo quickly took out his gun and followed: “Be careful… I’ll lead the way. If there are any issues, I’ll protect you.”

Xia Xinyan glanced back at him and smiled, making a gesture: “Alright, big hero, go ahead~!”

Tsk, he might be lacking in other areas, but when it comes to showing off before a girl, he sure knows how to do it.

But he doesn’t realize that such behavior in reality would likely just make the girl see him as a tool…

At most, it would end with a “You’re a good person.”

Still young.

…And foolish.

Watching the guy charge in like he’s been pumped with adrenaline, Xia Xinyan added in her mind.

Perhaps it’s due to the current environment, having not encountered much darkness, at this moment, Ling Mo could still be described as pure. Even if he can be called rational enough, it’s only within the scope of what he can understand. With a Ling Mo like this, manipulating him is incredibly easy.

Judging from his current reactions, Xia Xinyan could tell he has already started to view her as a potential girlfriend… or even a prospective wife—if he feels that a girl has no possibility of intersecting with him, he wouldn’t bother putting on a show in front of her. Once he starts to put himself out there, it’s because he believes it’s time to showcase his masculine charm.

In fact, Ling Mo had done this before… this subject could just as easily refer to Xia Xinyan as well, but sadly none of the foolishness from the past involved getting in touch with Ling Mo, ultimately a series of meaningless hormonal releases.

Now, looking at it from an outsider’s perspective, it’s almost endearingly naïve.

However… a guy like this, if he truly encounters a scheming girl, he might not even know how he got played to death—just a little demonstration of goodwill and the right tempting bait could easily hook him half the way, almost no difficulty involved.

Sighing inexplicably.

Suddenly realizing that training this guy properly could be quite the arduous task.

…If there’s a chance in the future, maybe I’ll help him out a bit.