Chapter 88

Chapter 88

Even as the new world began, Qin Nan found himself constantly replaying the words Jian Fan had spoken to him.

After Jian Fan had mentioned Mu Xin’s name, Qin Nan had asked why.

If he suspected Mu Xin, why choose to team up with her? Furthermore, judging by the current situation, there was nothing unusual about her. One could even say their cooperation had been quite harmonious.

“The person you need to guard against isn’t the current Mu Xin, but the future one,” Jian Fan had said.

Qin Nan vaguely understood what Jian Fan meant.

From the very beginning, Xia Zeqin had indeed been Jian Fan’s good teammate and partner. Back then, Xia Zeqin was someone who could be trusted. Then, one day, some unknown change occurred that led the two of them to their current state.

Mu Xin was certainly trustworthy right now, but it was possible that one day she might suddenly change and become untrustworthy.

But-

“If that’s the case, you have to guard against me, and I have to guard against you?” Qin Nan asked, his expression complicated.

Jian Fan didn’t deny it. “You could put it that way.”

Jian Fan stood up and left him with one final remark: “Consider this a piece of advice. In the Realm of Death, you can have companions and teammates, but do not invest your emotions in them.”

With that, Jian Fan simply walked away.

Qin Nan watched Jian Fan’s departing figure, blinking in a bit of a daze.

So, was it because he had hugged Jian Fan in a moment of joy after the previous world ended? Did that make Jian Fan think he was investing emotions-specifically, friendship-into him in the Realm of Death, prompting him to come over and give this warning?

Qin Nan found it somewhat amusing.

It was nice of Jian Fan to warn him, but if Jian Fan truly viewed him as a simple, expendable teammate, why bother coming over to warn him at all? Deep down, Jian Fan must already consider him a friend. He had even gone so far as to use his own history with Xia Zeqin as an example.

Qin Nan didn’t take the warning too much to heart.

He viewed Jian Fan as a friend and Mu Xin as a teammate because both currently deserved his trust. If they ever changed, it would likely be a gradual process with signs to follow. During that process, his feelings would naturally fade as well.

What Qin Nan cared about more was the grudge between Jian Fan and Xia Zeqin.

Xia Zeqin was a man shrouded in far too many mysteries. He was a dangerous variable.

“Qin Nan,” Mu Xin called out again.

Qin Nan snapped back to reality and turned to her. “Ah? What is it?”

“What are you thinking about? You’ve been like this ever since I saw you today. Everyone is here; it’s time to head out.” Mu Xin looked at him with a hint of confusion.

Qin Nan gave an awkward smile and lowered his voice. “I was just mulling over Xia Zeqin. There are some things I can’t quite figure out.”

This wasn’t exactly a lie.

Mu Xin nodded. “He is indeed a bit strange. We should keep a closer eye on him from now on.” She then gestured toward the other side. “Those are the other two Players matched with us this time.”

Qin Nan looked over.

They were two young men with Yellow Hair.

The two sat together; given their shared style, it was only natural they would be seen together. At the moment, they were sitting bolt upright with such serious expressions that it looked almost comical.

Qin Nan quickly withdrew his gaze.

Since there were two of them and Jian Fan seemed satisfied with their current team dynamic, Jian Fan hadn’t paid much attention to the newly matched Players. With Jian Fan showing no interest, Xia Zeqin naturally didn’t express any opinion either.

Once everyone was accounted for, the bus started up again.

It was the same process, the same operation.

When the bus finally came to a halt, they disembarked one after another. A new world had officially begun.
Twelve Players stepped into a new world.

They stood on the soil of this new world, looking at the scenery before them and then at each other in bewilderment.

Behind them was a vast, boundless sea. Beneath their feet was a stretch of sandy beach, and not far off stood several barren hills. At this moment, the beach was empty except for the twelve Players; naturally, there were no supplies like tents to be found.

So-

“Deserted Island Survival?” one of the energetic young men was the first to ask.

As soon as he spoke, Qin Nan and several others turned their gazes toward him. Finding himself the center of attention, the young man immediately grinned. “Uh, I’m not wrong, right? This should be Deserted Island Survival? Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Sheng Mao, but you can just call me Yellow Hair.” As he spoke, he pulled his companion forward. “This is Wang Yeyi. You can just call him Orange Hair.”

Qin Nan glanced at their heads.

Both were yellow, but there was a slight difference. Orange Hair’s yellow did indeed lean a bit more toward an orange tint.

“Is your hair always this color?” Qin Weiyi asked, somewhat curious.

Yellow Hair reached up and brushed his bangs aside. “Pretty much. Sometimes I dye a streak of a different color. What do you think? Handsome, right?”

“Heh.” Qin Weiyi gave a strained smile in response.

He reserved judgment on the other man’s sense of aesthetics.

“It probably is Deserted Island Survival,” Orange Hair said, steering the conversation back to the main topic.

With no NPCs and this kind of environment, they were clearly trapped on an island. The situation was easy enough to identify, but the circumstances were a bit of a headache.

“If it’s Deserted Island Survival, there will probably be a hunger mechanic,” Jian Fan suddenly spoke up, raising a relatively crucial point.

In the other worlds, they didn’t need to worry about things like eating or drinking, but in a Deserted Island Survival scenario, things likely wouldn’t be so friendly.

Jian Fan had just closed the Points system as he said this. He was being cautious with his words; based on the items available in the Points system, there was more than just a hunger mechanic to worry about.

“It’s getting late. We should find a place to stay first,” Lu Jing suddenly interjected.

Lu Jing, who had always acted as Qin Weiyi’s protector, looked serious now. Even as the others looked over, his expression remained unchanged as he quickly voiced his thoughts. “The temperature difference at the beach is too great at night. Under normal circumstances, in an environment like this without a place to shelter from the wind and rain, you’re guaranteed to get sick after one night. There’s no medicine here. Given enough time, we’ll die of illness on our own without needing any other mechanics.”

Jian Fan pondered for a moment. “Lu Jing has a point.”

Qin Nan looked around, feeling a bit of a headache coming on. “Food, water, shelter, transportation-it’s all a problem. Do we have to figure out how to start a fire ourselves?”

Otherwise, in the pitch black, they wouldn’t even know if danger was suddenly approaching.

“Hey, those are all big problems that need solving,” Yellow Hair remarked, though his face didn’t show much concern.

Qin Nan didn’t want to overanalyze Yellow Hair’s mindset. He had already opened the Points system to see what useful items were available. He wouldn’t exchange for anything now, but if they reached a point where they absolutely had to use them, it would save time to know what was there.

The Points system was being quite practical this time.

Food, knives, water, some medicines, tents, and so on. As Qin Nan scanned the list, he even saw toilet water for repelling insects, priced quite high at 50 Points.

Tsk.

Just as Qin Nan was lamenting how much of a rip-off the Points system was, Lu Jing spoke again.

“I know how to start a fire.”