Night had completely fallen.
"Crack... crackle..."
The firewood, not given time to dry, let out a series of pops in the flames. Fortunately, this didn't stop it from burning.
The fire gradually grew stronger, illuminating a large circular area on the open beach. It was quite bright for at least five meters around.
Everyone sat around the bonfire, but because the crackling fire sent woodchips and sparks flying, they didn't dare sit too close, maintaining a distance of two to three meters.
Four meters north of the bonfire was a large, half-person-high stack of firewood, along with some scattered dry branches. It would be no problem to keep the fire going through the night; there would even be a considerable surplus.
Looking at the vigorous flames and the ample firewood, everyone gradually let out a sigh of relief. Then, they all looked with some admiration toward the handsome young man sitting on the south side of the fire, who seemed to be deep in thought.
It was Fumiya Jin.
However...
Unlike the others...
At this moment, Fumiya Jin didn't feel the slightest bit relaxed. The problem of starting a fire was solved, but a much more troublesome weight was pressing on his mind.
The Death Countdown.
Shortly after entering the game, Fumiya Jin had scanned everyone's countdowns.
The situation at the time was quite strange:
The dreadlocked black man, the fleshy-faced woman, the madam, and the little fatty—these four all had over 210,000. A rough calculation showed they could live until dawn on the third day, which should mean they would clear the instance.
But the curly-haired man had just over 85,000—he would die a day later, tomorrow evening.
Of course, none of that was the most critical part. The most critical part was himself and Nijika.
Fumiya Jin's own countdown was over 64,000. And Nijika's was over 82,000.
In other words, if nothing changed due to this countdown, the two of them would die tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon, respectively. Even earlier than the curly-haired man!
This was extremely bad.
And now, although more than an hour had passed since they arrived in the game, there had been no strange changes to anyone's countdown; it had merely decreased by a few thousand seconds from before. Their time of death had not been affected in any way.
So... what kind of massive crisis would they encounter tomorrow that would cause himself, Nijika, and the curly-haired guy to die one after another?
And the little fatty and the others, who currently didn't seem to have any powerful abilities... could actually survive to clear the instance?
What on earth was going on?
"Doc... Doctor?" a voice came from the side. It wasn't the pronunciation he liked to hear, nor was it a clear female voice. It was a gruff, American English accent.
Fumiya Jin turned his head and saw it was the dreadlocked black guy.
The guy, who had been extremely arrogant before, always holding his head high with a swagger, was now hunched over, a forced smile on his face, looking cautious as if afraid of getting beaten. The contrast was quite strong.
Fumiya Jin raised an eyebrow slightly. "Something you need?"
The black guy quickly waved his hands. "No, no, no, it's nothing important. I just wanted to tell you... I was a bit too loud earlier. You... you're a bigger man than that, please don't mind it, haha."
Fumiya Jin was slightly amused and said mockingly, "Why so arrogant before and so humble now?"
Under normal circumstances, an American would have a hard time understanding that phrase. But with the strange power of the instance's auto-translation, even this dreadlocked guy understood it instantly.
The guy gave a bitter smile and scratched his head. "Can't be helped, man. That move of yours just now was too brutal. I... I'm truly impressed..."
He still clearly remembered the scene from half an hour ago—Fumiya Jin had led them to the edge of the forest, found a few trees as thick as a bowl, and then... swoosh swoosh swoosh—
They only saw the flash of a blade, saw what looked like cherry blossoms scattering, and then...
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
One after another, the trees came falling down.
Although those trees weren't particularly thick or towering, to cut them down instantly with such a smooth, clean cross-section was definitely not something an ordinary person could do.
The black guy had no doubt that if Fumiya Jin used that slash on him, he'd be cut in half at the waist!
The most crucial part was that his strike was terrifyingly fast.
You couldn't even see it clearly, how could you possibly dodge it!
So you can fucking one-shot people at close range, huh?
"Anyway, I'll absolutely never go against you in the future, big bro. Please, don't chop me up!" the guy promised, trembling.
Fumiya Jin rolled his eyes. "I'm not some crazed killer. As long as you don't cause trouble or harm anyone, why would I attack you."
Hearing this, the black guy breathed a small sigh of relief.
Then, he glanced up at the fleshy-faced woman ahead and to the side. Seeing she wasn't looking, he lowered his head and whispered to Fumiya Jin, "Doctor, big bro, let me be bold and ask... are you a veteran player? You seem way stronger than that woman. If it weren't for you today, we'd probably have fallen into her trap already, who knows what would've happened to us. If you're really a veteran, I'll follow you. I'll do whatever you say, no questions asked!"
Fumiya Jin was amused.
This guy was big and brawny, but he was the ultimate fence-sitter. He'd side with whoever was winning.
However... in the Samsara Game, when it came to survival, this wasn't necessarily the wrong approach.
"I'm not a veteran player," Fumiya Jin shook his head frankly. "This is indeed my first official game."
"Then how can you have such an amazing..."
He stopped mid-sentence.
Because the black guy saw the fleshy-faced woman look over and get up to walk toward them.
"What are you two talking about?" The fleshy-faced woman sat down to Fumiya Jin's left, trying to force a friendly smile that wasn't very effective due to her fleshy cheeks.
"Nothing," the black guy scratched his head. "Just expressing my admiration for the Doctor..."
"Finished expressing yourself?" The fleshy-faced woman shot him a glance. "Go add some firewood. A bunch of men letting that little girl tend the fire by herself, is that right?"
The black guy froze for a second, realizing she was shooing him away so she could talk to Fumiya Jin privately. He immediately nodded. "Right, big sis, I'm on it!"
A flash of satisfaction appeared in the fleshy-faced woman's eyes. This guy was pretty good at being a lackey; he knew his place.
She turned back to Fumiya Jin and said, "Hey handsome, you did very well today."
Fumiya Jin didn't really want to talk to her and replied flatly, "It was alright. Just trying to survive."
"This instance is so dangerous, there might still be threats tonight. We need to set up a night watch," the fleshy-faced woman said with a smile. "How about... you and I take the watch tonight? I don't think the others are very reliable, and you're the most capable one here."
Fumiya Jin suddenly turned and glanced at the woman, catching a hint of lust in her eyes that she couldn't hide in time.
Oh my god.
I've been targeted by a thirsty woman.
It seems this "Loved by All" superpower doesn't always have positive returns.
The problem is, it matters who's being thirsty...
If it were Yuki Suou being this thirsty, he might actually be a little interested in playing along.
As for this fleshy-faced woman... even if she were naked in his bed and he was forced to drink two bottles of aphrodisiac, he probably still couldn't bring himself to do anything.
He doesn't eat pork!
However...
After pondering for a few seconds. Fumiya Jin didn't completely reject the suggestion either.
"I'm definitely not going to sleep. The rest of you can take turns," Fumiya Jin said with a shrug.
The fleshy-faced woman smiled. "It's fine, I'm a night owl too. I can definitely keep you company all night. At least with someone to talk to, you won't get so sleepy."
Fumiya Jin: "..."
Overconfident women are such a turn-off!
The problem is, this is a three-day instance. Getting on her bad side on the first day would definitely create huge problems for his survival later on.
Especially since a crisis sufficient to kill him and Nijika was due tomorrow...
So, all conflicts and internal strife had to be avoided as much as possible.
"Um... Doctor?" At that moment, a clear and pleasant voice came from his side.
Her golden hair swayed gently in the firelight as the angelic girl walked step by step to his side, as if bringing a holy light that could save the world to shine upon him.
Fumiya Jin looked at her, truly feeling like he was seeing an angel who had come to his rescue.
"I think I heard you talking about the night watch?" Nijika came to his side, sitting down closely to his right. She looked at him with soft, watery eyes and said, "I'm wide awake. I'll keep watch with you."
Seeing this, the fleshy-faced woman's expression instantly darkened.
What the hell!
What are you doing here?
I sent the black guy to add firewood for you so he would get lost, not so you'd have free time to come over and ruin my plans!!!
Also, who are you putting on that gentle expression and those watery eyes for?
Seductive women are the worst, they should all die!!!
____
Hello! Walnut here! Or... Miku Dayo in this case heheh...
Unfortunately, I had 2 stories deleted from my main account, "Walnut-chan," and I decided to post them here on this other account... I'm counting on your support to recover what we've lost!
🔥 40% OFF to celebrate 2 new stories! 🔥
We've just launched 2 new stories, and we want you to join us! Take advantage of the 40% discount to become a member.
When you join, you get instant access to:
✅ Over 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Exclusive content and updates!
Plus, your support unlocks bonuses for the entire community. Our goals are still active:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 55 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
Secure your spot with the discount and get access to everything right now:
👻 P - Walnutchan