Day 8. Morning.

  Kwan Minhwoo stared at the empty shelves with an ugly face. Besides him, Kim Sungho’s face wasn’t any better.

  “Ohoho… looks like… this survival game is finally getting real.”

  Kwan Minhwoo’s heart sunk even more. He finally understood why the merchant village sold food and water.

  Damn it! They should’ve bought more!

  But there was no medicine for regret.

  The four-eyes turned to their pile of food supplies and ordered, “Manager Kim, let’s pack them up into our inventories. From now on, we’re on a ration system.”

  The power grab starts. Some people were certainly happy about this. But not the lady who lost her job.

  Losing her role only left her with a single-tracked worth in existence.

  Biting her lips with worry, Yoona gazed down at her figure lewd enough to make most men turn into beasts and hugged herself like a vulnerable white lotus.

  Now the question was… how far is she willing to go, and… who will be her target?

  Her lonely gaze searched the store and eventually landed on the young fisherman passing by…

  Yu Zhiye felt the ambiguous look the enchantress was shooting him, but he ignored her and went about his own business.

  When he approached the front entrance, he bumped into Mob Character B, Park Insu, chatting with Baldie Tae nearby.

  “...Madaraka! Just getting reminded about it makes me angry! That asshole Duri almost got me killed! Good thing I fessed up an emerald to get out or who knows where I would get spirited away to!”

  “Che. And here I thought I won’t have to see your ugly face around anymore. You’re lucky you got out on time. But by the looks of it, that sneaky rat isn’t so lucky.”

  “Hurhur! Serves him right! I saw his plaything hide in a house and he had no way to break in to pay her. He even went crazy and tried to drag me into the mess! I hope he stays there and never comes out! Ptui!”

  After taking it out on the floor, Park Insu glared at the eavesdropper passing by. “Madaraka! What cha looking at?! Scram!”

  Yu Zhiye didn’t mess with the bad-tempered dog and continued on his way out.

  A door opened. The sea of sand welcomed him…

  But there was nothing except sand dunes and sand. The mysterious village was gone.

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  “Ugh, guess the trade hub is a limited-time event…”

  Now the question is… will it be back?

  Hopefully. Otherwise… the supplies won’t last.

  And once supplies run low, those holding power will do anything for survival. It’s highly likely this base will turn into hell…

  “Before that happens, I better prepare a backroad.”

  Before, there was nowhere to hide in this desert full of sand. But now?

  Yu Zhiye headed out back and saw the tall rocky mountains that were a few miles away.

  Any gamer should know: anywhere a hole can be dug can be a base.

  What better place than the caverns delivered to his doorstep?

  That expensive pickaxe he bought will not go to waste!

  And perhaps he wasn’t the only one with that idea.

  The store’s back door opened. Out came his little party and a little goblin skipped to his side.

  “Gud morning big brother”

  “Morning, you two…” Yu Zhiye looked at the uncle arriving right behind. “Ready to head out, Jack?”

  “Yeah.” Jack pointed to the mountain range up ahead. “Me and the little missy are thinking about digging into that…”

  “See what we can find and... maybe find a place where we can keep our supplies safe. Wanna tag along, Steve?”

  The invitation was in line with his plans and felt more tempting than ever.

  But when Yu Zhiye judged the distance from the mountains and thought about how close he was to the next core upgrade, his decision was set.

  “Maybe tomorrow, Jack. Once it gets closer.”

  “Yeah?” Jack looked surprised. “Yo, yo, yo! Is that a promise from our thousand-years-immobile fisherman teammate?!”

  Yu Zhiye chuckled. “Yep. Bout time I see a little of the world out there.”

  Once his promise was given, the little goblin was the first to celebrate!

  “Yay Big brother finally agrees to come adventuring with us! Ehehe”

  Even Jack’s mood brightened. “Aight! Then that’s a deal, Steve! We’ll scout out the way for ya today and take you on a tour tomorrow! Bwahahaha!”

  After exchanging another bout of pleasantries, the party finally split.

  “Aight! Catch ya later, Steve!”

  “Bai bye, big brother Eih! Adventure, adventure time ehehe~”

  Once the distraction left, Yu Zhiye quickly located his fishing zone. “Focus! I’ll upgrade my core by tonight!”

  While the fisherman pursued the Dao of Fishing, the rest of the base’s members gathered together for a meeting.

  “…our group have downsized, but our water supply still won’t last more than a week. We need to hold off on exploration until we can find a source of water or more emeralds to buy it.”

  “But how can we find those if we won’t go exploring?”

  It was an infinite loop leading to a dead end. Their solution was:

  “Downside the exploration team. Preserve water for us explorers. Same with food.”

  “Ohoho, that timid one in our team isn’t an issue, but Miss Yoona…”

  “She will agree.” The four-eyes sneered. “A canary in a cage has no choice!”

  In the men’s restroom, Park Insu cornered the lady in red with lust written all over his face.

  “Miss Yoona, as long as you agree to my little favor, I’ll offer you protection and food.”

  Even though she was backed into a corner, Yoona still stayed aloof and played hard-to-get. “Mr. Park, please restrain yourself. I’m not a casual woman!”

  “Madaraka! Don’t act all high-and-mighty with me, be-atch. I know you want my hot thing inside of you—!”

  Just when Park Insu captured that perfect waistline and was about to crop a feel through the open neckline of her red dress, he was interrupted by a growl.

  “Oi, Park dawg, the four-eyes is looking for—Aueeghh! What are you doing to Miss Yoona, you ugly mutt!”

  Park Insu glanced back and saw the bald donkey aggressively making his way in. “Kek. Unlucky.”

  He turned back and let go of the fragrant beauty. “I’ll give you time to think about it. You can avoid me for a day, but you can’t avoid me forever.”

  After dropping that line, Park Insu stormed out to butt heads with the bald donkey that ruined his good deed. “Bald donkey, what did you just call me?! Think I have no temper?!”

  Yoona gloomily watched the restroom door creak shut and calmly fixed her untidy dress back in place. “Men. Heh.”

  The lady in red stared at the beautiful face in the mirror and finally made a decision in her heart.