Chapter 518 - 508: Saving Ariel 1
[Prompt 1: This game is a hell-level instance, so the rewards are extremely generous. However, you could lose your life at any moment during the game, so you must be mentally prepared.
Of course, if you cannot accept such an outcome, you may also choose to quit this game. Doing so will also mean forfeiting your player status.]
Reading the first prompt, Moira Lynch cursed the system internally. ’How treacherous. First, it mentions the generous rewards, and only then does it talk about the risks. It even offers the option to forfeit our player status.’
’Isn’t this blatantly designed to make people hesitate?’
’The remaining players have all gone through countless hardships to get this far. How could they possibly give up their status so easily, especially with such generous rewards dangling in front of them like bait?’
[Prompt 2: Supplies in this game are scarce and the environment is harsh. All players, please be mentally prepared.]
[Prompt 3: This game will no longer have a time limit. It will continue until a player completes the game, quits the game, or dies.]
[All players, please be true to yourselves. Once a decision is made, there will be no chance for regret!]
As the voice faded, two buttons appeared before Moira Lynch: one red and one blue.
Red represented quitting, and blue represented continuing.
To be honest, Moira Lynch hesitated when faced with these two choices.
’The system already mentioned how dangerous this game would be. Given my current situation, there’s really no need for me to take this risk.’
After a moment of hesitation, Moira Lynch ultimately chose to follow her heart and continue.
’It’s not for any grand reason. I can’t let my shop disappear. Besides, fortune favors the bold.’
’Worst case, I’ll just quit midway through, or I can just hide in my space.’
’I have plenty of ways to save my own skin, after all.’
After she made her choice, everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. Online, however, a huge uproar had already erupted.
Some, out of fear, chose to quit the game, but the majority chose to continue.
When Moira Lynch came to her senses, she found she was still in the Elf Tree House. "Looks like the system really just came to give us a heads-up this time," she said. "It didn’t intend to pull us into the game."
Just then, Shane Rhodes and Hugh Finch returned from outside, one after the other.
Seeing Moira Lynch and another person were there, Shane Rhodes got straight to the point, asking, "You both chose to continue, right?"
The two of them nodded.
Seeing this, Shane Rhodes let out a sigh of relief.
"This game seems extremely dangerous. What do you think we should do?" Hugh Finch said.
"The second prompt said the game’s environment is harsh and supplies are scarce. Plus, there’s no time limit—it only stops when we complete the mission, die, or quit. I say we focus on protective measures and preparing supplies. As for the mission, my advice is to prioritize our own safety."
’After all, staying alive is more important than anything.’
"I agree with Moira," Shane Rhodes said. "Safety is what matters most. After all, you only have a future if you’re alive."
"We can choose to quit if we can’t finish the mission," Hugh said, "but based on our experience from the last game, even if we choose to quit, the system might not necessarily teleport us back."
"If we get left behind in an environment like that, the only likely outcome is death."
"After all, for us to even consider quitting, we’d have to be at the end of our rope, completely out of supplies with nowhere to turn."
After hearing Hugh Finch’s words, the group fell silent.
"Then let’s bring a lot of extra supplies this time," Moira proposed. "We’ll fill up all the Space Buttons. Then we’ll set a threshold. If our supplies drop below that line, we’ll decide whether to quit based on the situation at the time."
"If players who quit really do get left behind, we can figure out a way to rescue them then."
Moira’s reasoning was simple. ’Even if we really get stranded, there’s no need to be afraid, because I have the Teleportation Gate.’
’Besides, Shane Rhodes and the other two all have an Intelligent Brain. They just need to send their location, and I can pinpoint it to go pick them up.’
Because time was short, Moira Lynch and her group couldn’t prepare more food. They had to take out the Soldier Food Rattans, Nutrition Supplements, and Energy Bars they had previously disdained.
Since Shane Rhodes and Kai York still didn’t know Moira Lynch’s true identity, she couldn’t take out the cheap Soldier Food Rattans. Hugh Finch, on the other hand, took a large amount from her.
Watching the Space Buttons being stuffed full one by one, the group finally felt a bit more at ease.
The next day, right on schedule, the system’s voice sounded again.
[Dear players, welcome to the game.
The main mission for this game is "The Escort."
A fierce war recently broke out on Ariel Planet. Vicious interstellar pirates attacked this once-beautiful planet, causing widespread devastation. However, tenacious warriors on the planet are still desperately fighting back.
The Federation has received their call for help. Learning that they are short on food, clothing, and supplies, The Federation has specially hired you, a group of escorts, to deliver supplies to support them and help them overcome this crisis.
Friendly Reminder: The pirates have not left. If you encounter them, run.
The people of Ariel Planet have never stopped resisting, so be careful not to kill them by mistake. The clothes on your back are your best form of identification.
Additionally, the boxes containing supplies will emit a faint energy fluctuation. Ordinary people cannot detect it, but it may attract some unnecessary trouble for you, so please be extremely careful.
And now, let the game begin!]
As a white light flashed, Moira Lynch opened her eyes to find herself standing in front of a warehouse.
There were other players around, all warily surveying their surroundings.
Moira Lynch scanned the area but saw no familiar faces. ’Well, looks like I’m on my own again.’
’But that’s fine, too. It means I’ll have more freedom.’
She then saw that inside the warehouse were rows of square, black boxes.
’These must be the supply boxes the system mentioned.’
With this thought, Moira Lynch was the first to walk into the warehouse. She approached a box and saw that it wasn’t very large, about the size of a big first-aid kit.
’How much can a box this small possibly hold?’
Puzzled, Moira Lynch picked up one of the boxes. She tested its weight; it was about ten pounds.
A weight like this was nothing for her.
Suddenly, she noticed there seemed to be a word written on the side of the box.
"Water?"
This box contained water.
’And here I thought all the boxes had the same contents.’
Just then, someone else discovered a notice inside the warehouse.
[All escorts, please carry supplies according to your own ability. Do not be overly greedy.]
’Is it worried we’ll take too much at once?’
As Moira Lynch thought this, she stored the box in her hands into her space.
Because she had a Space Button to act as cover, her action didn’t draw too much attention. Instead, the others quickly started doing the same.