Chapter 3 - “S-Rank Skill”

| Chapter 4

Last chapter recap: Apocalypse Calamity becomes real, Yun Ling gets her territory and starts looking for equipment.

This chapter has been brought to you by me, and Smash10101.

Chapter 3 S-Rank Skill

Yun Ling avoided the monsters and inspected the cards, stopping frequently along the way.

Twenty minutes later.

Yun Ling wore cloth shoes, carried a wooden bow on her back, and had a quiver tied to her waist as she appeared at the park entrance.

Stopping and looking, she saw an orange card floating nearby. It shone with an enchanting orange light that made people unconsciously want to get closer.

To her regret, there were five goblins guarding it.

“… I don’t know if it is an equipment or a skill card,” Yun Ling murmured.

Equipment and skills both had four levels and could be distinguished by color.

Normal equipment and C-rank skills shone with white light.

Premium equipment and B-rank skills shone with blue light.

Rare equipment and A-rank skills shone with purple light.

Legendary equipment and S-rank skills shone with orange light.

If she worked, and then found it was an unsuitable S-rank skill in the end, she would suffer a big loss.

As Yun Ling was thinking, she suddenly heard someone ask, “Work together?”

She looked in the direction of the voice, and saw a young man of twenty five or so standing three meters away.

His features were distinct, his eyes black and he had a high nose. He held a round shield in his left hand, a half-meter long wood stick in his right, and a backpack on his back. He looked to be both offensive and defensive.

Shield!

Yun Ling’s gaze stuck to the shield and she could not bear to move away.

While there was both equipment and skills in the initial card rain of the game, the ratio of equipment was too low.

Along the way, she had inspected nearly fifty cards, and only found two equipment cards. One provided the cloth shoes, and the other the wood bow and quiver.

Honestly speaking, she was used to close combat. Using the bow for a long range attack, she did not have a good aim.

The reason she carried the bow and quiver was just because in the initial stages of the game, equipment was rare. Even if she could not use it, she could sell it to others after she returned to the camp.

“You want to work together?” Yun Ling asked.

The man said, “Shoot and attract the attention of the goblins, lure them here, and kill them one by one.”

“What about the spoils?” Yun Ling asked.

The man answered, “Split equally.”

“The orange card?” Yun Ling asked.

The man said, “We will see the situation after killing the goblins.”

This sounded pretty reliable.

Yun Ling thought and then agreed, “Agreed.”

Then she took the wood bow and an arrow from the quiver.

[Name: Wooden Bow]

Quality: Normal

Equip Effect: Strength 1.

[Name: Quiver]

Quality: Normal

Equip Effect: Automatically refill an arrow each minute. At most, this can hold 10 arrows.

Aim, shoot.

Yun Ling tried her best, but she missed. The arrow fell powerlessly when it was still a distance from the goblins.

“I carry a bow, not because I am good at shooting, but because I cannot find another weapon,” she shrugged, “if I keep on shooting, it is just a waste of arrows. How about I give the wooden bow and quiver to you, and you let me carry the round shield?”

The man glanced at Yun Ling. “Okay.”

With the wooden bow in hand, the man’s eyes immediately became sharp. He handed the wood stick to Yun Ling, and then he took an arrow from the quiver. One hand holding the bow, the other pulling the string, he shot after just aiming for a moment.

Yun Ling:”……”

Brother, your movements are so skilled it is suspicious!

The arrow accurately hit a goblin’s chest.

The goblin was furious. The five gathered together, and sprinted in the direction of the arrow.

The man did not panic or rush. He continued to shoot.

One arrow hit a left leg, and one the abdomen. The already wounded goblin died.

Three arrows hit the front of the chest. Another goblin died.

Yun Ling thought, no matter the two of them hit it off. So she was interested in the other’s round shield, and the other wanted her bow…

In the blink of an eye, nine arrows had been shot, and three goblins had fallen to the ground.

Yun Ling calculated. Adding on the arrow she had wasted, the quiver was empty.

Two players vs two goblins. One person holding a stick, the other a shield. They should win.

When her thought formed, she saw the man take out an orange quiver from his bag. Then he took out an arrow, aimed, and shot.

The arrow flew. When it hit the target, with a bang, it exploded.

One arrow, and the goblin was immediately killed.

Yun Ling, “! ! !”

Exploding Arrow!

During the beta, Yun Ling knew an archer player. That person had a purple quiver. When the arrows formed, there was a 20% chance of having a special effect, for example penetration, explosion, freezing and burning.

Her temporary teammate had an orange quiver. How high was the chance of a magic effect? 30%? 50%? Yun Ling did not dare to think about it.

The last arrow was shot, and the battle finished.

The man counted the spoils and announced after a while. “The kills dropped 16 copper coins, two silk threads, and a piece of wood material.”

Yun Ling silently moved outwards.

Unknowingly, there was a large distance between the two of them — if a certain person made an unusual move, she would turn and run without a word!

The man did not care and went to inspect the card. After a moment, he said regretfully, “Thorn Sting, a S-rank close combat skill, not suitable for me.”

Yun Ling paused in her steps. “I want it.”

“Card for you, drops for me?” The man suggested.

Yun Ling said, “All right.”

After reaching a consensus, the man quickly left, not even asking for the stick back. She did not know if he had forgotten or if he thought there was no need.

After he went far, Yun Ling finally picked up the card, and confirmed its use.

[Name: Thorn Sting (Passive Skill)]

Quality: S-rank

Skill Effect: When attacked, reflect 50% of damage.

“Skilled at fighting monsters, advanced equipment, is he a beta survivor?” Yun Ling speculated.

But that person had left, and the question was fated to be unanswered.

“Never mind, it was a good thing to have met him. I got the round shield, and the reflection skill. If I were by myself, I probably would have rushed in, taking the damage, and running out.”

Thinking of being surrounded and attacked by five goblins, Yun Ling felt great opposition.

She would not have died, but it would have hurt a lot.

“It was fortunate to have met him.” Yun Ling rejoiced.

When returning, Yun Ling no longer searched for equipment cards, and just moved along.

It was not hard to avoid the monsters.

If one was calm, they could avoid by finding a hiding place, or making a detour if they saw from a distance.

If one just kept on running, it would waste energy, and it was easy to encounter new monsters.

After about twenty minutes, Yun Ling reached Rising Cloud Camp. Just as she was going to put the wood stick in the warehouse, she saw three university students sitting around the bonfire.

A male student with glasses had a bitter expression. “I called the police, but no one picked up. I called my parents, but did not get through.”

A female student with short hair said, “When running, I observed that not just the school has monsters, there are monsters all over the streets.”

“I do not know what place this is, but after hiding here, the monsters did not chase me.”

“If we go out rashly, we will likely encounter danger again.”

The other male student with acne could not help but worry. “Nothing to eat, nothing to drink, we cannot last for long! What will we do after this?”

The three looked at each other, and did not know what to do.

At this time, the glasses-wearing male student saw Yun Ling and asked, “Hello, could you please tell me where you found the wood stick and round shield?”

In his view, if the three of them were outfitted with weapons, they would be safer. Even if they were forced out to find food, at least they could fight back.

Yun Ling did not keep this a secret. “Wasn’t there a card rain just now? I found an equipment card. After confirming use, you will have a weapon.”

“Equipment card?” The glasses student was stunned.

The other male student with acne whispered, “Now that you say so, I remember. Previously, Zhou Ming picked up a card, and then grew very powerful, good at fighting. Even the monsters could not defeat him!”

Yun Ling guessed that Zhou Ming was someone they knew before. “He likely picked up a fighting skill card. After using it, the user will immediately have the ability to fight.”

The glasses student did not believe it. “Cards, skills, isn’t this like a online game?!”

Yun Ling nodded. “It is like a real version of a VR game.”

The short haired female student murmured, “It sounds like an April Fool’s Day joke.”

“I’ve said all that’s needed. It is up to you whether you will hide in the camp and wait for rescue or go out to find cards and resources.” Yun Ling headed for the warehouse.

She had been away from her residence for a while, and was in a hurry to return home and move supplies.

Entering the warehouse, she put down the wood stick. A list of the warehouse materials appeared.

Yun Ling looked and found only one line on the list. “1 * Wood Stick.”

She closed the window, and opened the camp attribute window. She saw the details of the unlockable buildings —

Mission Hall: Can issue missions, attract and recruit NPC talents. Requires 100 copper coins to build.

Woodworking Workshop: Can create simple weapons, provide wood household items. Requires 100 copper coins to build.

Tailor Shop: Can make clothes and armor. Requires 100 copper coins to build.

Restaurant: Can provide all kinds of food. Requires 100 copper coins to build.

Barbecue Shop: Can provide grilled meat. Requires 100 copper coins to build.

… …

There were over fifty types of buildings to be unlocked. Some had similar functions, like the restaurant and the barbecue shop. Some had unique abilities, but could only be unlocked when the camp was at a higher level.

Yun Ling thought, there is a limited number of buildings that can be unlocked in the camp. It is enough to build one for similar functions.

But right now, she could not unlock even one, because she had no copper coins.

Moving, killing monsters, leveling up, saving copper coins, collecting materials, searching for supplies. Yun Ling quickly set up her goals for the next step.

She went out of the warehouse, and was about to leave the camp when the glasses student called to her, “May we go out with you?”

Yun Ling answered, “No. I can only guarantee my safety, and not the people following me.”

“Then never mind.” The glasses student was discouraged.

Yun Ling gradually moved away, and soon disappeared from the trio’s sight.

The student with acne whispered, “She was holding a wood stick previously, but when she left, she only had the round shield.”

“You mean…” The glasses student licked his lips and was slightly nervous.

The student with acne pointed out, “The wood stick in the house. She isn’t using it. We…we’ll just borrow it.”

The short haired female student did not say a word. She felt that it was not good to do this, but with her life in danger, she could not speak up and stop this.

“If you do not object, I will go get it?” the student with acne said as he walked towards the warehouse.

“Ah—” the glasses student wanted to dissuade, but soon after, his companion came back.

“What is it?” He was very puzzled.

The student with acne had a frown. “It does not let me enter. Saying something like only those on the list will be allowed in the territory warehouse.”

For some reason, the short haired female student sighed in relief. “Never mind, let’s think of another way.”

Translator Ramblings: Yun Ling is blessed with luck. Did not have to worry about finances before the apocalypse, got a high level skill on the first day of the apocalypse.