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I was thrown into a road survival game with hundreds of millions of players. While everyone else panicked, I was busy gathering materials, upgrading my vehicle, opening treasure chests— After the 7-day newbie protection ended… I drove my pink, plush farm tricycle straight to #1 in the world rankings. ------ [Highway Survival loading. Current progress: 82%. Please wait.] Tanya Saunders heard the familiar voice echo in her mind, and her survival instincts kicked in immediately. She lunged into the kitchen and grabbed a large stockpot, frantically stuffing it with dry spaghetti, eggs, and a box of salt. Scooping up a full case of bottled water from the floor, she sprinted toward the bathroom. Her fingers just brushed against a box of tampons when her vision plunged into pitch blackness. When the darkness finally faded, Tanya found herself standing on a desolate highway stretching endlessly toward the horizon. [Welcome to Highway Survival. Location: Huchary Region 88, Zone 666. Please read the game rules carefully.] [1. Each player may select one starter vehicle. Choose wisely, as this decision will dictate your survival. [2. To gather resources, you must keep driving forward. Supply crates are scattered along the highway. [3. Crates contain essential survival items but may also conceal unknown dangers. Use your head when opening them. [4. Driving in reverse or turning back is strictly prohibited. You must meet a daily mileage quota. Each road typically hosts one player, but parallel roads will occasionally merge, allowing you to encounter others. [Remember that your fellow humans can sometimes be deadlier than monsters. [5. Obey basic traffic laws. Stop at red lights and go on green. You may choose whether to enter any service site you encounter. [6. Daytime hours run from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Drowsy driving is strictly forbidden. If your Health drops below 10 or your Fatigue exceeds 90, you will lose your driving privileges. [7. When resting at night, never step outside an 8-meter radius of your vehicle. You do not want to find out what lurks in the dark. [8. Mentally summon the game panel to view more details and select your vehicle. The first seven days serve as a beginner protection period, meaning monsters will not actively attack you. [9. Death in the game is permanent. Do not push your luck. Every risk comes with a reward. Good luck, and let your journey begin.] Tanya listened to the rules and let out a deep sigh. 'I cannot believe I actually get a second chance at this,' she thought to herself. She looked down at the massive pot still clutched in her arms. 'Thank God I managed to bring this along.' Even if her luck was terrible during these first few days, she would not completely starve. A moment later, she noticed shattered green fragments resting at the bottom of the pot. She quickly crouched down and scooped them up. 'Wait, is this the Heart of Emerald?' she wondered in shock. It was the ultimate reward from a brutal dungeon run in her previous life. That event had been a total bloodbath with a survival rate under ten percent. Tanya had scraped by on sheer luck and clinched first place. She had expected a massive haul of survival supplies, but the system only gave her this seemingly useless Heart of Emerald. She never figured out what it did, and her holo-screen refused to scan it. Now, remembering the blinding green light that engulfed her right before she died, it all made sense. It was a respawn token. Shaking her head, she stared back down at her makeshift supply stash. 'Whatever, being alive is a win in itself,' she concluded quietly. During her previous run, Tanya played as a lone wolf. It worked perfectly in the early stages. She consistently ranked in the top one hundred, avoiding traps and human drama. Around the end of the first year, however, the system introduced factions, and her ranking plummeted. By the end of year three, the global warzone and team combat updates rolled out. Her solo playstyle became completely obsolete. Joining a guild that late in the game meant dealing with massive trust issues. She simply refused to kiss up to anyone just to survive. Facing imminent elimination, she took a desperate gamble on a seven-star dungeon no one had ever cleared. She bet everything on a chance to live, but she failed. Thankfully, the Heart of Emerald triggered and gave her a clean slate. She took a deep breath. 'There is no way I am doing worse than last time, but changing my entire strategy is going to be brutal,' she told herself firmly. Tanya pulled up her personal player interface. Three cartoonish vehicle icons popped onto the screen. "Please make your selection!" the system announced. Last time, she picked the off-road SUV on the far right. That was a massive mistake. It was a total junker with a busted AC and terrible gas mileage. Worse, it broke down constantly. She wasted precious early-game food supplies trading for vehicle repair cards and fuel. Before the apocalypse, she had spent years trying to lose weight without success. The sheer starvation of that first month slimmed her down in record time. 'I am definitely making a different choice this time,' she resolved silently. The middle option was a massive semi-truck. That was a hard pass. It looked incredibly tough, but the fuel consumption was enough to make a player quit on the spot. The first wave of players who chose the rig thought they hit the jackpot. They soon realized it was a giant trap. They practically bankrupted themselves trying to buy diesel, and it was never enough. That left only the option on the far left. It was a blue, heavy-duty agricultural electric three-wheeler. It featured an open cab and a rugged frame, looking surprisingly reliable. Batteries were significantly easier to find than gasoline, and their trade value was dirt cheap. Once she upgraded it into a proper electric vehicle, its speed would easily rival a standard car. Her mind made up, Tanya reached out and tapped the electric three-wheeler. Without warning, a digital Easter egg popped onto the screen and burst with a loud pop. "Congratulations, Player Tanya! You have unlocked the Title: Stubborn Mule! "As the very first player to trigger a Title, you receive a special reward!" A shimmering silver supply crate dropped from the sky and landed right in front of her. Tanya stood completely frozen. As far as she knew, silver supply crates did not even spawn until the beginner protection period ended. She had actually scored one right out of the gate. 'Okay, so the title is a little insulting, but who cares,' she cheered internally. Chapter 2 Tanya dragged the crate to the side of the highway. She rolled her shoulders and stretched her legs to test her current physical limits. Even though this was supposed to be a reward chest, these boxes were notorious for spawning random monsters at the worst times. She had to stay alert. Once she was mentally prepared, Tanya popped the lid. Sure enough, the second the crate opened, a massive bulbous white head popped up. The creature bared its fangs and lunged at her. Her reflexes kicked in instantly. Before the monster could clear the box, she planted a swift kick squarely on its face. The strike punted it straight into the endless darkness bordering the road. System: "Congratulations, Player Tanya! You have achieved the First Blood achievement and earned the title 'Daredevil'. Would you like to make a server-wide announcement?" "Announce it," Tanya replied without hesitation. "But hold on a second. I need to change my username first." System: "Acknowledged. Please proceed to your personal stat panel." She was a returning veteran, and she had no intention of playing the victim this time around. Sometimes, projecting absolute power was the best camouflage. She pulled up her interface, her mouth twitching in amusement. 'My starter stats are an absolute joke,' she thought to herself. [Player Stats: [Player: Tanya Saunders, 24 [ID: 8866620010608 [Username: Unset [Vehicle: Brand New Agricultural Electric Three-wheeler (Battery: 100%) [Health: 69 (Suffering from poor posture, carpal tunnel, and terrible lifestyle choices.) [Fatigue: 9 (Literally your only redeeming quality.) [Strength: 21 (Total weakling.) [Stamina: 26 (Do you even lift?) [Agility: 25 (Slow as molasses. Good luck escaping anything.) [Overall Combat Rating: 35 (You have technique but zero muscle. Super weird. Are you hacking?) [Inventory: Dry Pasta x6, Eggs x20, Bottled Water (16oz) x12, Small Camping Stove x1, Silver Supply Crate. Tanya rolled her eyes. The system's sarcasm was dialed up to eleven. It had been a long time since she had seen this level of snark. 'Honestly, I kind of missed it,' she realized with a smile. She tapped her screen and set her alias to Alpha Whirlwind. She made sure to hide her real name. It was the exact handle she used in her old life, and it fit perfectly. It sounded menacing and gave off heavy top-tier player vibes. Masking her identity and gender was basic survival 101 to prevent malicious players from tracking her down. The moment she hit confirm, a bold, flashing banner scrolled across the top of her vision. [Congratulations to Player Alpha Whirlwind for securing First Blood! All players, time is ticking. Get moving!] Tanya glanced at the public chat. The general population was still in a state of utter panic. "Holy shit, what is happening? Is this a prank or real life?" "The game just started! I barely picked my vehicle and someone already got a kill? You have to be kidding me!" "Alpha Whirlwind, show yourself! Give us a hint!" "This game has zero chill! I was literally in the middle of a shower. I still have shampoo in my hair. At least let me put some pants on before dropping me in!" "Thank God I was at the grocery store. I just loaded up a shopping cart with snacks. God-tier spawn for me." "Omg, any sugar mamas out there? I have an eight-pack! Carry me!" Tanya could not be bothered to scroll any further. She tapped her two new titles to check their attributes. [Stubborn Mule: You always choose the hardest path! More stubborn than a mule, but your thick skull pays off. Strength +5 when equipped.] [Daredevil: No matter how terrifying the monster, you simply do not care.] Players could only equip one title at a time, so Tanya immediately selected [Stubborn Mule]. She was not afraid of monsters anyway, making the courage buff useless. She equipped it and clenched her fists. A welcome surge of actual power coursed through her veins. Feeling a bit more capable, she turned her attention to the silver crate. 'Please do not let me down,' she hoped eagerly. [Congratulations! You have obtained: Backpack x1, All-Season Clothing Set x1, Pack of Sterile Underwear x2, Beef Jerky x8, MREs x4, Canned Chili x4, Scrap Metal x5, Gallons of Gas x5.] Tanya grinned. She was absolutely thrilled. It was a massive haul. 'Now this is a God-tier start,' she thought happily. She immediately pulled out the backpack and strapped it on. It only had ten inventory slots, but it was more than enough for her current stash. She also hauled the empty silver crate onto the back of her three-wheeler. It would serve as a decent storage box for now. Later on, she could break it down for raw materials once she found a crafting bench to unlock the dismantle feature. In high spirits, Tanya hopped onto her sweet ride and hit the gas. As the vehicle hummed to life, a small notification popped up in the top right corner of her vision. [Today's remaining distance: 30 miles] The daily travel quota during the seven-day rookie protection period was relatively low. Hitting the milestone was a breeze as long as her vehicle was running and she were not critically injured. The highway was massively wide. It made her electric three-wheeler look incredibly dinky by comparison, but the vehicle handled well. Tanya felt totally relaxed. There were no natural disasters and fewer monsters spawning in the crates during the protection phase. She began multitasking. She steered with one hand, scanned the shoulder for more crates, and pulled up the chat interface to check for good gear. Most players were still in decent shape since everyone had just dropped into the game. The chat was mostly useless gossip. Hardly anyone was trying to trade actual supplies, though there was no shortage of beggars and freeloaders looking for handouts. Tanya tapped the filter icon and set the chat to only show trade requests. It did not take long for a message to catch her eye. Retired Magical Boy: [Who has gas? I am willing to trade five batteries for it. Seriously, I need a lifeline here guys!] Tanya opened a private message with him. [I have gas. I will take the batteries.] A loot crate caught her eye on the side of the road before he could reply. She instantly swerved over and parked. It was a wooden crate. That was the lowest tier available, which meant the danger level was practically zero. Tanya pried it open. A tiny field mouse popped out. It squeaked when it realized she was not scared and scrambled away into the brush. She did not even bother chasing it. The thing had zero attack power, but it was fast as hell. Catching it was impossible anyway with her current agility stats. [Congratulations! You have obtained: Iron Ore x3, Purified Water (16oz).] A wooden crate obviously could not compare to a silver one, but she was not complaining. At least everything inside was useful. She noticed several unread private messages when she climbed back onto the three-wheeler. Retired Magical Boy: [Hey Alpha boss, I have five batteries. Will you trade three units of gas for them?] Retired Magical Boy: [Wait, my bad, that was greedy. Two units of gas is totally fine!] Retired Magical Boy: [Boss? Are you there? Is two units too much? Please just say something! Look, I will give you four batteries for just one unit of gas. Deal?] Tanya read through the log. She was completely speechless. 'I did not even have to negotiate, and this guy haggled himself straight to the bottom.' She quickly typed back: [I got tied up and was not looking at the screen. I will give you two units of gas for all five batteries.] She shot over the trade request. The guy accepted it in a fraction of a second. Retired Magical Boy: [Awesome! I am definitely coming to you for trades in the future. Add me as a friend?] Tanya was about to close the chat box, but she hesitated. 'People who are this clueless usually have insane beginner's luck,' she reasoned to herself. He might stumble across some really rare drops. She ended up tapping accept. [Sure,] she replied. [Hit me up if you need to trade.] Retired Magical Boy: [Omg, you are so chill for a top player! Hey, take a look at this. Would you buy this thing off me?] Chapter 3 Retired Magical Boy sent a picture of a pastel pink magic wand. The tag explicitly marked it for electric vehicles only. The item description read: [From grimy to glamorous, pimp your ride!] Tanya immediately dropped two units of gas into the trade window. [Hit accept if you want to swap.] The gadget was actually incredibly practical. Beyond the cosmetic upgrade, it packed a hidden perk that would stay useful even after she leveled up her vehicle. Retired Magical Boy accepted the offer instantly. It was a no-brainer. The item was strictly for EVs, which he did not own. Plus, they were in the middle of a hardcore survival game. Looking pretty meant nothing. Running out of gas meant death. After receiving the wand, Tanya read the incantation and inexplicably blushed. Making sure she was completely alone, she cleared her throat, traced a circle in the air, and yelled, "Shimmer and shine, sparkle divine, transform!" Her little blue electric three-wheeler instantly morphed into a striking mix of bubblegum pink and rose red. Delicate lace trim wrapped around the edges. The center of the handlebars was bedazzled with rhinestones, while the grips and seat cushion turned into plush pink fuzz. 'It definitely looks cute, but isn't it way too flashy?' Tanya thought, her mouth twitching uncontrollably. A system notification chimed: [Congratulations on discovering a hidden vehicle perk. Your ride is not only gorgeous now, but it will also automatically deep clean itself every time you recite the spell. [You sure are a lucky duck!] That automatic cleaning feature was exactly what Tanya wanted all along. Hopping back onto her ride, she set off down the road. She felt like she was radiating pure pastel energy. The fuzzy handlebars and seat were surprisingly high-tech, automatically adjusting to her optimal body temperature. Trading two units of gas for this was an absolute steal. Players were still figuring out the game mechanics. Otherwise, nobody would have sold such a premium item so cheaply. Adding Retired Magical Boy to her friends list was definitely the right move. The highway was smooth and flat. Her electric three-wheeler could hit thirty miles per hour, making excellent time. Tanya opened the Global Chat interface again, hoping to stumble across another clueless but lovable player just like him. Player 1206: [Does anyone have food? I swear I am never dieting again. I was intermittent fasting when I got dragged into this mess, and I am starving!] Lost Puppy: [I am so thirsty. Could some kind soul please spare a sip of water?] Player 1030: [Why are there internet beggars literally everywhere?] Blessed: [Just popping in to say I am doing great. I do not want to brag too hard, but you guys get the idea. Instant noodles are delicious, but man, they are so bad for you.] Galaxy's Most Handsome: [The guy above me is disgusting. Are you just here to troll? Get lost!] Amidst the flood of messages, Tanya spotted a very important name. WarWolf 009: [Warning to all players. Do not step into the black zones on either side of the road. It is instant death. [Also, be extremely cautious when opening supply crates. Monsters can jump out, so always have a weapon ready.] Judging by the username, AlphaWolf 009 was obviously military or government personnel. In her previous life, he was the top-ranked player in Sector 88, Zone 666. He was a solid guy. They had traded a few times and even teamed up for dungeons back then. While she didn't plan on playing entirely solo this time, she had absolutely no intention of joining any official factions. Those people were too bound by duty. Tanya knew deep down she was a selfish person. By noon, Tanya had knocked out her daily driving task of thirty miles. She still had five spare batteries, and her current charge had only dropped to seventy-four percent. She saw no reason to stop and kept driving. Once the seven-day beginner protection period ended, the system would release the first leaderboard. This ranking was calculated using a combination of total distance traveled and resources gathered. The top ten rewards were supposedly insane. Tanya had never reached that tier in her old life, but she had seen players bragging about the top-tier loot in the chat logs. She had only found a single wooden crate all morning. 'My resource score is going to be abysmal, so my only shot is to max out my mileage,' she reasoned, keeping her hand on the throttle. It couldn't be helped. Supply crates were notoriously scarce during the beginner phase. She managed to find two more wooden crates that afternoon, yielding a bottle of water, a loaf of whole wheat bread, and ten iron nails. Tanya didn't even pull over for dinner. She kept driving while gnawing on the bread and washing it down with water. She pushed relentlessly until nine o'clock that night before finally pulling over to rest. Her three-wheeler's battery died right on cue. She swapped in a fresh one and tossed the dead battery into her inventory. If she found a universal charger later on, she could recycle and reuse all her drained batteries. Checking her system panel, Tanya saw she had covered just over a hundred miles today. She obviously couldn't compete with players driving actual cars or high-end EVs. But not everyone was that lucky. Some poor souls spawned with shopping carts, baby strollers, or bicycles. Compared to them, Tanya knew she was incredibly blessed. She stood up and stretched hard, working the stiffness out of her limbs. Her butt was completely numb. Her Health stat had dropped by five points to sixty-four, and her Fatigue gauge had spiked to seventy-six. It was a dangerous state to be in. After dark, the guttural roars of monsters echoed from the deep shadows lining the road. Some creatures would even crawl onto the asphalt and circle parked vehicles, trying to bait players outside. It sounded terrifying, but Tanya was used to it. Honestly, their howling sounded a bit pathetic to her now. During her first time through this game, Tanya had been terrified and locked herself inside her vehicle. Now, she couldn't care less. Her physical stats were currently garbage. System items could artificially boost her attributes, but actual physical conditioning was just as vital. She decided to get her blood pumping. She started with an intense cardio routine, planning to transition into strength training right after. As long as she stayed within the twenty-five-foot radius of her vehicle, she was perfectly safe. Mid-jumping jack, Tanya felt the prickle of eyes on her. She whipped around to find a massive, black-faced wolfhound glaring at her. Its tail was held high, yellow fangs bared. As they locked eyes, the beast unleashed a vicious snarl. Tanya didn't even miss a beat of her workout. "Hey buddy, want to join in? Follow my rhythm!" The demonic hound looked utterly bewildered. It snarled again. Thick saliva dripped onto the pavement, carrying a rancid, coppery stench. Tanya wasn't scared, just disgusted. "Shoo, get lost. If you aren't doing cardio, get out of my face." Chapter 4 The demonic hound circled Tanya's vehicle a few times. Realizing she was completely unfazed and had zero intention of stepping outside, it let out an annoyed growl and trotted away. Post workout hunger gnawing at her, Tanya checked her inventory and grabbed a beef jerky. 'This tastes pretty mediocre cold,' she noted to herself, 'but at least it has protein and carbs.' Her backpack lacked a stasis feature. The weather wasn't scorching yet, but fresh meat spoiled quickly and would only last until tomorrow at best. Munching on her food, she scrolled through the Chat. The trade channel was buzzing significantly more than it had during the day. [I need food and water! I will trade hot selfies!] [Trading a Rolex for a meal! I paid 10 million for this beauty! Serious buyers only!" Player 1212: [I am literally starving to death. My luck is garbage. I only found one chest all day, and it just had some useless black rock inside!] Tanya opened a private message with Player 1212. [Send me a pic of that black stone.] Player 1212: [Oh my god, Alpha Whirlwind! You are the legend who triggered the first server announcement. Here, look!] Player 1212 instantly linked the black stone in the trade window. 'I didn't expect someone to pull an item like this on day one,' Tanya thought, blinking in surprise. Player 1212: [So? Do you know what it is, boss? Do you want it?] Tanya intentionally waited a few minutes. She only replied when he frantically messaged her again. [I have no idea what it is. What is your price?] Player 1212: [I pulled it from a Bronze Crate, so it is not from some basic wooden crate. I want a bottle of clean drinking water and something to eat.] 'That is dirt cheap,' Tanya realized immediately. 'This is a steal no matter how you look at it.' She agreed to the terms. [One bottle of water and a beef jerky.] Player 1212: [Sold!] After the trade, Tanya pulled the black stone out. There were no immediate system prompts, but the moment it cleared her inventory, it reacted. "Hey there, lucky genius! You have discovered the true purpose of the Basic Black Space Stone. Would you like to expand your backpack? This upgrade will add 10 storage slots." "Yes," she replied. Her inventory instantly expanded to twenty slots. 'Space stones like this always skyrocket in price once people figure out what they actually do,' she thought with a smirk. 'Trading a bottle of water and a single beef jerky for it is a massive profit.' Tanya went back to the trade channel to hunt for a weapon. Dropped into a strange and dangerous new world, weapons were just as precious as food. Sellers were incredibly rare. After filtering through the junk for a good while, she spotted a post from Alpha Wolf 009: [Trading weapons for food.] She slid right into his direct messages. Alpha Whirlwind: [What weapons do you have? What kind of food do you want?] WarWolf 009 took a moment to reply. [I have a dagger and a machete. I do not care about the food as long as it fills me up.] Alpha Whirlwind: [Four beef jerkies and a bottle of water for the machete?] WarWolf 009: [Deal.] Tanya had pulled eight beef jerkies from her Silver Crate earlier. She had just traded five away and already devoured the remaining three herself. Letting out a satisfied burp, she grabbed the machete and got to work. Having a weapon meant nothing if she did not know how to swing it. She grabbed the empty Silver Crate from her vehicle and flipped it upside down to use as a practice dummy. She practiced prying things open with the blade, followed by endless hacking and slashing. 'I need to be ready to take down a monster the second it spawns,' she told herself firmly. The early dungeon monsters were not particularly overpowered. They were mostly designed to test a player's courage. Tanya kept swinging until her arms screamed in protest. Stopping to massage her sore muscles, she did a thorough stretching routine. After a quick wash, she crawled into the cargo bed of her three-wheeler to sleep. At five foot five, the bed was not quite long enough for her. With her upper body inside, her legs dangled over the edge. Her only other option was to sleep curled up into a ball. Knowing the vehicle was an absolute safe zone, she felt completely secure. She slept like a log and was out cold until five in the morning. System: [Congratulations, you ridiculously carefree player! You have achieved the highest sleep quality on the first night of the game. [Reward: New Title "Carefree Kid".] Tanya deadpanned. 'In my last run, I fought tooth and nail for over three years and only earned a single title. 'I have been back for less than twenty four hours and I already have three.' Players could only equip one title at a time right now. However, once she got her hands on a Title Badge, she could engrave them for trading or stack their effects. 'The more titles, the better,' she reasoned confidently. She tapped on the Carefree Kid details and immediately broke into a grin. [Ignorance is bliss, and the good die late! This game desperately needs big hearted airheads like you. Equipping this title grants +3 to Strength, Agility, and Stamina.] Tanya instantly swapped out her "Stubborn Mule" title for "Carefree Kid". Then, she pulled up her character sheet to check her current stats. [Player: Tanya Saunders, Female, 24 [Title: Carefree Kid [ID：8866620010608 [Username: Alpha Whirlwind [Vehicle: Brand New Pink Electric Three-wheeler (Battery: 99%) [Health: 68 (Overstressed neck and shoulders, carpal tunnel in hands. Your body is basically a walking warning sign.) [Fatigue: 15 (Literally the only decent stat you have.) [Strength: 21 (+3) (Adding three still leaves you weak as a kitten.) [Stamina: 26 (+3) (Have you ever worked out a day in your life?) [Agility: 25 (+3) (Slow as molasses. You couldn't outrun a turtle.) [Overall Combat Rating: 41 (All form, no substance. How are you even pulling this off? Are you hacking?) [Inventory: Spaghetti x6, Eggs x20, Bottled Water 550ml x13, Salt, Mini Camping Stove x1, Backpack 20 Slots, 4 Sets of Seasonal Clothing, Sterile Underwear x2, MREs x4, Canned Chili x4, Metal Scrap x5, Iron Ingot x5, Gasoline x1, Nails x10, Machete x1.] Tanya noticed that the three point bump to her core stats had raised her Overall Combat Rating by six points. 'My combat experience from my old life is still there,' she mused quietly. 'My base stats are just garbage right now, but luckily I have time to adapt.' Pulling out her mini camping stove, she hooked it up to the three-wheeler's battery and boiled two eggs. She washed them down with some bottled water for breakfast. Time for a morning workout. She started with a light jog around her trike to warm up. Since it was not even six o'clock yet, the game still considered it the "Night" phase. Random monsters would occasionally charge at her from the shadows. But they could not actually reach her. They hit an invisible barrier about twenty five feet from the three-wheeler and stopped dead in their tracks to snarl at her. It was purely a jump scare tactic. Tanya wasn't buying it. In fact, she actively mocked them. "Hey! Friends on the left! Friends on the right!" she cheered, jogging in place. "Let's get moving! Come on!" Chapter 5 Tanya knew exactly how to keep herself entertained. 'If I don't find ways to amuse myself after years of total isolation, life will be unbearable,' she reminded herself. She worked out steadily until six o'clock. The second the game clock signaled daybreak, she fired up her little three-wheeler and hit the road. She had barely gone fifty yards when she spotted a crate. Sure, it was just wood, but any loot was good loot. "Off to a good start," Tanya muttered. She grabbed her machete, hopped off the three-wheeler, and marched over to the box. With a practiced flourish, she pried the lid open. She followed up with a wild flurry of hacks, slashes, and stabs. After a moment of aggressive shadowboxing, she paused. Nothing jumped out at her. Tanya cleared her throat and calmly sheathed her blade. She did not feel embarrassed in the slightest. 'I am bound to trigger a trap eventually, so it is better to be safe than sorry,' she reasoned internally. The crate held exactly one item. System: [Congratulations. You have obtained a Vehicle Upgrade Card fragment(1/6).] A complete Vehicle Upgrade Card could be bound to a vehicle, allowing the player to upgrade it using specific materials. Naturally, the material cost would skyrocket at higher levels. Tanya tossed the fragment into her backpack. Just like yesterday, she pushed the three-wheeler to its top speed while scrolling through her holographic interface. Days two and three passed without a hitch. Tanya turned into a relentless driving machine, totally focused on eating up the miles. Most of the monsters popping out of the crates were just there for jump scares. As long as players played it smart and waited for them to scurry off into the black fog lining the highway, they were perfectly safe. Yet, even with things being this easy, three people out of the ten thousand in Zone 666 had somehow managed to die. 'I really want to know how they pulled that off,' Tanya thought with genuine curiosity. Over the past two days, she ate spaghetti whenever she got hungry. When she grew sick of that, she switched to chili or self-heating MREs, always making sure to keep up with her morning and evening workouts. As for supplies, her haul consisted of a towel, a bowl, three survival ration bars, and a half-gallon of purified water. The real highlight was trading one unit of gasoline and a hot plate of spaghetti for two more Vehicle Upgrade Fragments. She did the deal with the player named Retired Magical Boy again. 'He is totally the poor sucker stuck with a massive semi truck,' she guessed silently. He clearly had zero interest in upgrading that gas guzzler and probably just wanted to shrink the rig down. That perfectly explained why he was so eager to offload his upgrade fragments. She currently only needed three more fragments to craft a complete Vehicle Upgrade Card. While checking her remaining supplies, a traffic light suddenly loomed ahead. She perked up instantly. A traffic light always meant a pit stop was coming up. The stop type was entirely randomized. Most were lucky encounters, but deadly traps were always a possibility. She would have to play it by ear based on the situation. The light stayed red for a solid five minutes. A horde of monsters lined up to cross the street, taking every opportunity to taunt Tanya as they passed. She kept a perfect poker face before finally shooting them a look of pure disgust. It worked like a charm. The creatures grew so angry they started cursing at her. The instant the light turned green, Tanya cranked the throttle and gunned it. If the light changed before she cleared the intersection, she would be completely surrounded by the mob. Right in the middle of the crossing, she spotted a row of scattered nails on the asphalt. She quickly tapped her holographic screen to scoop them up. System: [Congratulations. You have obtained Iron Nails x 30.] She hit the gas again, reaching the other side of the road with plenty of time to spare. Just past the intersection, a sign popped up on her right: [Service Area A Quarter-Mile Ahead.] Tanya did not hesitate and pulled right in when she drove past. Before she even got close, a god awful stench hit her. It smelled like pure death, and a faint green smog hovered in the air. Tanya instantly knew what this place was. A salvage dump. It smelled horrendous, but in the early stages of the game when resources were incredibly scarce, this was an absolute goldmine for players. Tanya parked her three-wheeler and broke into a sprint. Time was ticking, and she could not afford to waste a single second. A massive black bear was guarding the entrance to the dump. "Entry requires payment," the bear grunted. Tanya did not miss a beat. "Free entry during the newbie protection period!" "Password accepted. You may enter," the giant bear replied in a dopey voice. 'This is the fun of traveling back in time,' she mused internally. During the first seven days of the newbie protection phase, entry to all pit stops was completely free. The catch was that the monster staff would never volunteer that information. A player had to explicitly say those exact words to trigger the free entry condition. Some player had discovered this secret but deliberately waited until the protection period was over to share it out loud. The trolling was so obnoxious that it sparked a massive flame war with another player, which eventually escalated into a full blown manhunt. The moment Tanya stepped into the dump, the system announcer chimed in again. "Congratulations! You have unlocked the new title 'The Freeloader'. Wow, you really know how to game the system, don't you?" Tanya tapped open the details. 'This is incredible,' she thought, fighting the urge to shout "Awesome!" out loud. System: "The Freeloader: You just hit the jackpot! When this title is equipped, you can claim one item for free from any red-haired monster merchant. "You can purchase one item at a 90% discount from green-haired merchants, and get 50% off the entire inventory of purple-haired merchants!" Tanya did not even have time to celebrate before she reached the base of the massive trash mountain. She found a long stick and started digging through the piles, constantly scanning everything with her holographic screen. It did not take long to gather a decent pile of junk. After doing a full sweep, Tanya was still not satisfied. She had not found anything truly valuable. Biting the bullet, she started climbing straight up the mountain of garbage. She looked completely miserable. Her face and hands were covered in grime, but the corners of her mouth were pulled up into a massive grin. After spending nearly an hour rummaging through the muck, Tanya finally forced herself to leave. Her backpack was completely maxed out. She found a large plastic tub to carry the rest of her loot and marched out of the dump with her head held high. The giant black bear's dark face twitched as she walked past. 'Wow, this is just a classic greedy human,' the bear seemed to think. Just as she stepped past the boundary of the dump, another notification rang out. "Congratulations. You have triggered a key condition and obtained the 'Scrap Collector' ID badge. Please keep it safe." Tanya blinked in surprise. 'In the three years of my old life, I never heard of anyone getting one of these.' She opened the item details and studied it carefully. It had two perks. First, she got permanent free entry to any salvage dump. Second, she could sell scrap materials directly through the system. The entry fee for these dumps was never high, but free was free. The ability to sell scrap directly, however, got Tanya's gears turning. Now she just had to wait for some blind fool to cross her path so she could test it out. Tanya felt utterly disgusting. Her hands were caked in unspeakable filth. In a rare moment of luxury, she pulled out all her purified water and scrubbed herself down. When she ran out, she sacrificed a bottle of drinking water just to finish the job. Once she was completely clean, she changed into a brand new outfit from head to toe. She did not have enough water left to wash her dirty clothes, but she could not bring herself to throw them away. Chapter 6 Tanya really wanted to pull over and sort through this massive haul right now, but she just couldn't justify wasting the daylight. She hesitated briefly before deciding to keep driving and save the sorting for nightfall. Once this seven-day trial ended, the players with the longest distance and most supplies were guaranteed some serious rewards. Her little electric three-wheeler might be slow, but it could run for hours. With a vehicle upgrade, this rusted bucket of bolts could turn into a real beast. Everyone still had a fighting chance. Plus, she highly doubted anyone else had managed to hoard this much gasoline so early on. Most people would definitely stockpile it for emergencies. Tanya did not cut the engine until nine o'clock that night. Stretching her stiff limbs, she rubbed her hands together in excitement and hurried to the cargo bed. First, she sifted out all the edibles and uploaded them straight to the Trade Channel. [Slightly Stale Whole Wheat Bread x10: If you have an iron stomach, you will be fine. If you already have stomach issues, proceed at your own risk.] [Two-Day Expired Yogurt x3: If you think you will be fine, you will be fine.] [Half a Hotdog x1: Do not ask me where the other half went. It is edible, okay?] [Super Sweet Strawberry Cake x2: Obviously someone took one bite and tossed it.] [Messy Chocolate Pastry x1: Do you think it was already this messy to begin with?] [Cloudy Water x1: I do not recommend drinking this. But if you boil and filter it, it might work. Glad it is not me drinking it, though Since Tanya still had a decent stash of her own provisions, she was not desperate enough to consume junkyard scraps. Eating this stuff would definitely cause a drop in Health Points. It would probably just be a point or two since she had purposely left behind anything severely rotten. But for anyone starving, these items were literal lifesavers. Aside from an unopened pack of crackers and two sealed cups of instant soup she decided to keep for herself, she planned to liquidate the rest at a bargain price. After posting the listings, Tanya hopped into the chat channel to drop an announcement. Alpha Whirlwind: [Just dropped a bunch of food and drinks in the Trade Hub. Send a request if you want something. [I will accept or decline when I get a second. Super busy right now. No DMs or haggling.] Messages flooded the channel instantly. [Wait, what? Someone is selling a ton of food? Am I hallucinating?] [Holy crap, I need that! Nobody outbid me, I'm literally starving to death here!] [I just checked the hub. Isn't this stuff all near expiration or literally expired? Are we going to get sick?] Alpha Whirlwind: [The item descriptions are crystal clear. Buy it if you need it. Keep scrolling if you do not.] Trade requests began rolling in almost immediately. [Glass x2 for Messy Chocolate Pastry x1] [Rubber x1 for Half a Hotdog x1] [Toilet Paper x2 for Super Sweet Strawberry Cake x1] [Wood x5 for Slightly Stale Whole Wheat Bread x3] As long as the offers with basic materials were not totally insulting, Tanya accepted them all. One request popped up highlighted in red from a friend. Retired Magical Boy: [Battery x3 for Whole Wheat Bread and Yogurt.] Tanya sent him five pieces of bread and two yogurts. Within seconds, her inbox pinged with his frantic gratitude. Retired Magical Boy: [Bro, this much?! I seriously thought I was a goner! Oh my god, thank you so much, you absolute legend!] Tanya made sure to remind him of their deal. [Just remember to hit me up if you find any vehicle upgrade fragments or rare loot you do not need. I will give you a fair price.] Retired Magical Boy: [Say less! I got you. No problem at all.] Of course, there were plenty of bizarre offers that Tanya flat out ignored. She instantly blocked the truly gross ones. Offers like [Spicy pics in fishnets for Whole Wheat Bread] or [One virtual kiss for the sweetest Strawberry Cake] made her roll her eyes. Tanya let out an annoyed sigh. 'Total freeloaders,' she thought, not even bothering to reply. Even after clearing out all the food and drinks, her three-wheeler's cargo bed was still packed to the brim. The bulk came from a few massive items. She unloaded everything onto the ground first before sorting them one by one. [Scrap Crafting Bench: A retired relic. It gets the job done if you baby it, but it could fall apart on you at any second.] [Nylon Rope: Heavy duty and incredibly durable.] Tanya grabbed both items, using the thick rope to strap the crafting table securely to the rear of her electric three-wheeler. It hung off the back, but after wrapping the rope around it several times, she climbed up and jumped on it. It was rock solid without a single wobble. She nodded in satisfaction. 'Perfect,' she thought. 'When my legs cramp up from curling into a ball at night, I can just rest them on top of this. Beats letting them dangle.' Sure, the rusted table looked ridiculous clamped onto her pastel pink three-wheeler. Aesthetics were the least of her concerns right now, though. She was completely satisfied. [Damaged Portable Solar Generator: Can power various appliances, but it is currently broken! Requires a Crafting Bench for repairs.] Tanya grinned broadly. 'Talk about perfect timing.' Her eyes had widened in absolute awe when she spotted this beauty in the trash heaps. With a solar generator, she could charge her three-wheeler and spare batteries every single night. She would never have to worry about getting stranded with a dead battery again. It saved her a massive headache. She placed the damaged generator onto her newly installed crafting table. The repair menu popped up. [Repair Requirements: Iron Wire x8, Electrical Wirex1, Rubber x2.] She already had the wire and rubber in her inventory. She just needed that cable. Pulling up her interface, she hopped back into the chat. The channel was still flooded with gratitude from the people who had bought her food. Cursed Buff: [Thank God for Alpha Whirlwind. I literally would not have survived the night. Everyone else is pricing food way too high for me to afford. I ate one piece of bread and finally feel alive again.] Player 1122: [My luck is absolute garbage. It has been three days and I have only found four crates! The only food I got was a crusty protein bar. [So glad the legend did not reject my lowball offer and traded me a strawberry cake. It tasted heavenly!] Sugar Donuts: [Crying right now. I tried to grab something but it all sold out. Got anything left?] Tanya scrolled up slightly, dropping two salute emojis in the chat to acknowledge them before typing her request. Alpha Whirlwind: [Who has electrical wires? DM me.] Sugar Donuts: [Boss, can you tell us what cables are even used for? I have one but I am too scared to trade it away.] Player 1019: [What the hell, are you already in the industrial age or something? I am still out here rubbing two sticks together!] Tanya ignored the public questions. Her private messages were already pinging nonstop, and she began clicking through them one by one.

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She lunged into the kitchen and grabbed a large stockpot, frantically stuffing it with dry spaghetti, eggs, and a box of salt.