The moment Cheng Shuli's fingers brushed the prismatic crate, the cart's interior plunged into darkness. The crate's rainbow glow pulsed like a living thing.
[Verifying Player Eligibility…]
[Identity Confirmed: Cheng Shuli]
[Hell-tier First-Clear Reward Unlocked. Special Equipment Crate Opening.]
As the lid lifted, a pillar of seven-colored light erupted, piercing the cart's roof and shooting into the night sky.
Cheng Shuli instinctively shielded her eyes. When the radiance faded, she lowered her hand to find a single, pitch-black ring resting at the crate's bottom.
All that fanfare for this?
She'd braced for some gaudy, pay-to-win divine weapon straight out of a game, but all she got was a plain black ring.
[Abyssal Ring (Unique)]
[Description: A gift from the depths of Hell. Grants the wearer the "Insight" ability, allowing them to see a monster's weaknesses three times daily. Includes 1 cubic meter of dimensional storage space, accessible at will for unlimited item retrieval!]
Cheng Shuli's skepticism vanished. She carefully slipped the ring onto her finger.
Seeing a monster's weaknesses—three times a day, no less—was a game-changer. No explanation needed!
Utterly magnificent!
Then there was the storage. Cheng Shuli froze.
Was this… a spatial ring?
The term flashed through her mind, and a grin spread across her face, unstoppable.
How could she not laugh? This was the stuff of novels, dramas, and movies, and now she, Cheng Shuli, held one in real life!
And that bold [Unique] label?
One of a kind!
She'd hit the jackpot today!
Still chuckling, she caught a flicker of light from her cart's rear window.
Squinting, she peered through the crisscrossed cloth strips sealing the window, making out the shape of a large truck.
Cheng Shuli: "???"
That wasn't the kind of "jackpot" she meant!
Her mind blanked for a split second.
Then it clicked: the highways had merged. The novice protection period was over, which meant…
Merges could happen at night now?
Her expression darkened. She recalled the system's opening rules: don't stray more than six meters from your vehicle at night.
The truck wasn't far, but it was definitely beyond six meters.
Cheng Shuli stuffed the Universal Key, keycard, and medical supplies into the ring's storage space, then pressed herself against the window to study the truck.
It seemed to have just noticed her, its headlights flashing in greeting.
Tonight felt no different from before—layers of monsters still surrounded both vehicles. Cheng Shuli checked carefully, confirming that nighttime highway merges posed no immediate threat.
The real danger would come at dawn.
Exhausted, she flopped back onto the sofa. It was late, and rest was the priority.
Before drifting off, she opened the regional chat for a quick scan—and spotted a useful tidbit.
[Glory Shines on Blue Star]: Got some intel: the extreme cold might kick in after midnight. Not 100% certain, but it's 11 p.m. now. If you're still up, hold off on sleeping. Once the temperature drops at midnight, fire up your heating stove immediately. Waking up frozen in the middle of the night could make you sick.
[(˵¯͒¯͒˵)]: Glory, you're the BEST!
[Luo Luo]: Thanks!
[Twenty Four Bridges]: I've got a question, please help. So… I forgot to join the monster challenge, so I didn't get a heating stove. Can I still survive?
The question landed like a lead weight, halting the chat's cheerful buzz.
[Meow Meow]: Buddy, whether you make it depends on tomorrow's temperature. If it drops to -70 or -80°C, we're all screwed—especially those of us short on firewood.
[One Centimeter]: Don't be so grim. We're still alive, aren't we?
[Deep Blue]: I swear the system's toying with us—wants us dead but not all dead. Tomorrow's no longer the protection period, so supply crates might have new stuff. There's a sliver of hope.
[Master Li]: No stove, but nothing says you can't light a fire inside your vehicle. If tomorrow's crates have firewood, give it a shot.
[Clear Head]: Speaking of, @XuLingQi, didn't you beg Crow for a tent earlier? You're on a bike, right? It's gonna be freezing tomorrow—got a place to sleep?
[Xu Ling Qi]: …
[Xu Ling Qi]: My heating stove says there's no space to install it. @Eternal, @Crow Takes Flight, @Glory Shines on Blue Starr, any ideas, bosses?
[Red Boss]: Yo, buddy, why not sell me your stove? I'll trade you a tent. It's just sitting there, right? Might as well let me put it to use.
[XuLingQi]: Piss off! Sell it to you so I can freeze to death?
[Little Red Flower]: Xu-gege, if you're really out of options, can you send your supplies to me? I'll remember you forever~ forever~ forever!
The message was voice-turned-text by the system.
Cheng Shuli paused, then played the audio. A sugary, delicate female voice. She'd just revealed her gender like that?
And that tone was cutting.
[XuLingQi]: Screw you, you little—! You're cursing me to die? I'll—damn it, you—!
[Wanderer]: Whoa, chill. The girl didn't say much, did she? Your stuff's useless if you're dead. Why not give the living some hope? Don't be so petty.
[Blade Blade Blade]: Shut up, all of you! @LittleRedFlower, send me a pic, sis, and I'll hook you up with supplies!
[Soy Milk]: That's creepy as hell, dude.
[Half Half]: By the way, Eternal's gone, right? His avatar's grayed out.
[Curry]: Shit, you're right!
[Waterfall]: I'm Eternal's friend. This afternoon, he told me he was going for Hell-tier. Guess he failed.
[Jian Jia]: Even bosses can die, huh.
The realization hit like a cold splash, and the chat fell silent.
Cheng Shuli felt little. Death was common here. The last dungeon showed their region had 8,213 players. Now, only 6,580 remained.
The numbers were dropping fast.
Boss or not, no one was exempt. Even the mighty needed self-awareness.
Cheng Shuli asked herself: without that bug, would she have dared Hell-tier? Probably not. She'd have picked Elite, played it safe.
Steady was key. Regrets were for the living.
She glanced at the time. Midnight had arrived.
She considered opening the door to check the outside temperature but stopped short. Frost already coated the windows.
No more waiting. She tossed the entire seven-day firewood supply into the heating stove.