The drive on the forest road started smoothly enough, but halfway through, the car in front of them came to a stop, blocking their way.

There was a traffic jam. Looking ahead, a long line of cars stretched as far as the eye could see.

For people who lived in the city, this was an all-too-familiar scene. There was no need to make a fuss. When something like this happened, all you could do was wait patiently for the road to clear up.

"You’ve got to be kidding me! A traffic jam this early in the morning..."

After stopping the car, Lin Li stood up and stuck the upper half of his body out of the sunroof.

He gazed into the distance and saw that the road ahead was completely gridlocked. For now, he had no idea what was causing the jam.

"Lin Li, sit down. There’s no use getting worked up over a traffic jam. Let’s just wait," Su Yue said calmly from the passenger seat as she took her phone out of her bag.

"Lin Li, let’s play some National Shooting. By the time we finish a few rounds, the traffic should be moving again..."

"What an unlucky start to the day," Lin Li grumbled. He sat back down, pulled his phone from his pocket, opened the game, and started to squad up with Su Yue.

...

The sun slowly climbed, and the temperature gradually rose. Although the highway cut through the forest, with thick woods lining both sides of the road, keeping it from getting as hot as other places, the temperature was still not low—at least thirty-two or thirty-three degrees.

They had been stuck for half an hour now, with no sign of the traffic clearing.

The passengers who had initially gotten out of their cars to stretch their legs during the traffic jam were forced back inside by the rising temperature, turning on their air conditioning.

"Lin Li, there’s someone hiding in the bushes in front of you! Get down, quick!" While maneuvering her character to scan the surroundings, Su Yue spotted a figure in a distant patch of grass and immediately warned Lin Li, whose character was walking away.

Hearing Su Yue’s warning, Lin Li immediately made his character go prone. Just then, he saw a grenade fly over his head and land in the grass not far from him.

"BOOM."

With the sound of an explosion, a figure was blasted out of the grass by the grenade, turning into a loot box upon hitting the ground.

Then, he saw a slender figure—Su Yue’s character—sprint past him, run up to the box, and begin to check the gear inside.

"Nice one, Su Yue. He was hidden so well, and you still spotted him," Lin Li said, turning to praise Su Yue, who was sitting in the passenger seat holding her phone.

"It was okay. Just a standard play, nothing to write home about. Get over here, this guy had an 8x scope," Su Yue said smugly, pleased with Lin Li’s praise for her skills.

Lin Li maneuvered his character to the box and equipped the 8x scope.

"The final safe zone is going to shrink to that spot. Let’s go take the high ground. If we can hold it, victory will be ours."

Su Yue marked a location on the map, and after telling Lin Li, she started maneuvering her character, running quickly towards the destination ahead of him.

"Hey, wait for me! I’m not done looting this box yet!" Lin Li, who was still slowly rummaging through the box, called out to Su Yue, who had already left.

"Stop looting, there’s nothing good left. Hurry up and follow me, the circle is about to close in," Su Yue told him.

"Coming, coming..." Lin Li grabbed two grenades from the box. Just as he equipped them and was about to follow Su Yue, a gunshot suddenly rang out, and the screen in front of him went dark.

Su Yue, who was running her character towards the destination, saw the notification on her screen that her teammate had been eliminated. She immediately turned to Lin Li beside her and said in exasperation,

"Lin Li, what was that?! I told you to hurry up and follow me! You were dilly-dallying, and now look what happened. You got sniped."

"Er..."

Lin Li scratched his head in embarrassment. It was an undeniable fact that he had gotten greedy, which led to him being sniped by an enemy.

"Just sit back and watch your big sister put on a one-woman show!" Despite losing a teammate, Su Yue wasn’t worried at all. She spoke with complete confidence, her expression saying, ’With a gun in my hand, the world is mine.’

But the moment the words left her mouth, another gunshot rang out. Her game character collapsed and turned into a loot box.

"You’re not so hot yourself!" Lin Li laughed, looking at Su Yue’s darkened screen.

"..." Su Yue, who had been about to go on a killing spree to show off her skills and clinch the final victory, now wore a look of pure frustration on her pretty face.

"It’s just a game, don’t take it so seriously," Lin Li said comfortingly, though the smile on his face didn’t fade.

"Hmph..." Su Yue snorted, then made an excuse for her failure. "I haven’t played in a few days, so I’m a little rusty. After a few more rounds, I’ll get my groove back.

Once I’m fully warmed up, you just watch me tear it up..."

"Right, right. Once you’re fully warmed up, you can carry me," Lin Li said with a smile.

Su Yue was currently sulking because she’d been eliminated right after boasting. Since Lin Li was counting on her to carry him, it was only natural for him to go along with what she said. Besides, spouting a few nice words didn’t take much effort.

"Quick, let’s start another round," Su Yue urged, eager to redeem herself.

Lin Li nodded with a smile. Just as he was about to start a new round, he suddenly turned to look out the window. He frowned, his gaze fixed on the dim forest by the side of the road in the distance.

’A Spiritual Energy Wave. Is this from a person? Or a Mutant Beast?’

In Lin Li’s Perception, a First Rank Middle Stage Spiritual Energy Wave had appeared in the dim forest by the roadside. Although the wave’s intensity wasn’t particularly strong, it would be fine if it came from a human.

But if this Spiritual Energy Wave was coming from a Mutant Beast, it would be quite dangerous for ordinary people.

And just then, Lin Li saw a man and a woman get out of a car and walk toward the same dim forest where the Spiritual Energy Wave had appeared.

"Lin Li, what are you doing? Hurry and start the game! Why do you keep staring over there? Is there something interesting to look at?"

Su Yue, who was anxious to prove herself, was puzzled when she saw that Lin Li hadn’t started the game and was instead staring intently at the distant forest.

’The man and woman walking into the dim forest don’t look very old. They’re probably college students traveling together to Qiong City during their summer break.’

’If the Spiritual Energy Wave in the dim forest is coming from a Mutant Beast, and those two walk into the forest and encounter it, there will most likely be casualties.’

’Should I go and check it out?’ Lin Li wondered. He couldn’t bring himself to stand by and watch ordinary people die. He turned to Su Yue, who was looking at him, and said,

"Su Yue, we’ll continue the game later. I’m getting out to find a place to use the restroom. Just stay in the car and wait for me, I’ll be right back..."

Without waiting for Su Yue’s reply, Lin Li opened the car door and got out.

"Didn’t you go before we left? How do you have to go again so soon? Er... well, be quick and come back soon," Su Yue said to Lin Li as he got out of the car.

"Yeah." After getting out, Lin Li gave a wave to Su Yue in the passenger seat without looking back. Then, he ran toward the dim forest in the distance, chasing after the man and woman who had already entered the small, dark woods.

Sighing, Su Yue stared at the motionless line of cars ahead as her mind began to wander. ’If this traffic jam keeps up any longer, I might have to do what Lin Li did and find a spot in the woods to take care of business.’

...