Chapter 106

Chapter 106

“Child, what did you think of?” Qi Shuping looked at Jian Fan.

Jian Fan turned his gaze toward Qin Nan and asked, “Do you remember when you mentioned ‘Run the Poison Circle’ earlier?”

Qin Nan nodded, then asked, “What do the Green Bubbles have to do with running the Poison Circle?”

“My guess is that the Green Bubbles are what you call the Poison Circle,” Jian Fan answered.

“Huh?” Qin Nan looked completely bewildered. Not far from him, Orange Hair and Yellow Hair wore almost identical expressions. Even Qin Weiyi’s face showed a hint of surprise. How were the Green Bubbles and running the Poison Circle the same thing?

Jian Fan continued, “I don’t know what the Poison Circle looks like in a game. But precisely because I haven’t played the game, my thinking is one of the few not restricted by game-related influences.”

“This is Deserted Island Survival, not a Chicken Dinner game. Even if things like Airdrops and running the Poison Circle appear in this world, they might not manifest in the exact same form.”

Setting aside his preconceived notions about the game, Qin Weiyi reconsidered their situation. He began to grasp Jian Fan’s line of thought.

“In my understanding, there is running the Poison Circle, the Safe Zone, and the Poison Circle itself,” Jian Fan said.

Put that way, Qin Nan understood as well.

This ‘running the Poison Circle’ was not the same as the one in the game.

However, the core concept was identical: they had to stay within a Safe Zone. Once they entered the range of the Poison Circle, they would die, obliterated by the Realm of Death.

In Deserted Island Survival, the Green Bubbles were the Poison Circle.

In the game, players could see the area of the Poison Circle and where it was shrinking, allowing them to run into the Safe Zone. The game’s intent was to narrow the field of play; otherwise, on such a large map, so many players would just do their own thing, and it would take forever for them to encounter one another and produce a final winner.

But the Realm of Death was different.

The purpose of the Realm of Death wasn’t to determine a winner, but to make everyone die.

Therefore, the game’s version of a Poison Circle didn’t apply here.

The Realm of Death employed a Poison Circle method unique to its own world, and currently, their understanding of this Poison Circle was still very shallow.

“If that’s the case, then… the Poison Circle probably won’t be that simple.” Qin Nan frowned as he voiced his opinion. “As it stands, the Poison Circle is only set on that patch of beach. Doesn’t that mean we’re perfectly safe as long as we don’t go there? At the very least, if we avoid the times when the Green Bubbles appear, the Poison Circle won’t affect us.”

Qin Nan didn’t think the Realm of Death would be so kind.

“That’s why I suspect that the Poison Circle’s change every day depends on the Transmission Medium,” Jian Fan said.

Qin Nan glanced at Jian Fan’s head, then touched his own.

They were both heads, so why was the gap between them so large? Before Jian Fan mentioned it, Qin Nan hadn’t realized it at all. But once Jian Fan said it, Qin Nan felt it made perfect sense.

This time, the Poison Circle-the Green Bubbles-spread through the sand. That was why they stopped expanding once they hit rocks or grass. And it was precisely because the Green Bubbles didn’t just rely on sand to spread that animals were so scarce on these mountains.

“But we have Qin Nan now,” Lin Junruo said, sounding confused.

Qin Weiyi chuckled. “It’s not that simple. Even if Qin Nan can help us, we first have to find a place where we can temporarily take shelter. Today we were lucky because there happened to be a rocky area. But what if the next Transmission Medium is grass? Where do you think we could run then?”
Lin Junruo glanced at their surroundings.

It was almost entirely grass. There were stones, of course, but there wasn’t a large rocky area like the one back on the beach. The stones here were barely large enough for one person to stand on. If it came down to it, people would certainly end up fighting over a single rock.

Lin Junruo considered her own combat prowess and realized her life would be in grave danger.

“Besides, just because Qin Nan was immune to the Green Bubbles when they used sand as a Transmission Medium, it doesn’t mean he’ll be immune to everything else,” Qin Weiyi continued.

Mu Xin’s expression was equally grim. “The Green Bubbles that spread through the sand came from the seashore. But it’s impossible for them to spread directly from the shore to these grassy hills. Since the Transmission Medium has changed, the source of the Green Bubbles will be different too. These Green Bubbles might be something else entirely.”

“Even if we were back at the beach, Qin Nan might not be immune a second time. The Realm of Death isn’t that merciful,” Jian Fan added.

Qin Nan was so frustrated he actually laughed. “So what you’re saying is, my special ability is a one-time use thing?”

“It’s better than nothing,” Mu Xin said with a small smile.

If not for Qin Nan’s immunity, they would have had to wait until now for the Green Bubbles to recede before they could leave. Since a whole night had already passed, they never would have lasted this long. They would have been forced to exchange Points for food and water. While they wouldn’t have been in immediate mortal danger, their Points would have taken a significant hit.

Even if they eventually cleared this world, it wouldn’t be good news if the Points they spent here far exceeded the reward Points they earned for completing the level.

Of course, it was still better than dying.

“We didn’t have any experience the first time. The second time, we can find a way to avoid it,” Qi Shuping said.

That was indeed a silver lining.

If their theory was correct and the Green Bubbles only spread through one Transmission Medium at a time, then they could look for a resting spot that featured two different mediums.

Once one medium was chosen by the Green Bubbles, they could escape to the other as quickly as possible.

As for food reserves, they could leave a bit on both mediums. That way, even if one portion of food was consumed, they would still have another to eat. At worst, they would lose the morning hours waiting for the Green Bubbles to fade, but at least their lives would be secure.

Furthermore, they wouldn’t have to keep draining their Points.

“There are still other unknowns,” Qin Nan said, his gaze falling on Lu Jing’s Sniper Rifle. “Items from the Airdrop must have a purpose, but we don’t know what that is yet.”

They hadn’t encountered anything this time-or rather, because Qin Nan had stumbled into a solution, they hadn’t stayed in the rocky area for long. But next time, without Qin Nan’s immunity, they would be forced to wait six hours for the Green Bubbles to recede on their own. During that window, would a danger appear that required the Sniper Rifle? And if so, how would they handle it?

Even the space they had to run was limited.

“Let’s find a place to settle first,” Jian Fan said. “Worrying too much about things that haven’t happened yet is just looking for trouble.”

No one disagreed.

Sitting here doing nothing was the most dangerous thing of all.

As for everything else, they would cross those bridges when they came to them.

Anticipating problems could help them prepare, but overthinking would only lead to unnecessary fear and self-sabotage.