At Su Han's insistence, they returned home early.
Old lady Jiang confusedly watched them enter the courtyard. She questioned her husband, "Why are you already back so soon?"
"Don't mention it." Old He sighed and told her what happened at the valley.
Old lady Jiang hated that iron could not become steel, she scolded old He, "Old man, how can you be so careless?!!"
Iron could not become steel: To feel resentful towards somebody for failing to meet expectations and impatient to see improvements.
"I…I…" Old He struggled to reply.
*****
Su Han gestured at the fishing rod in her hand, "I'm afraid I have to leave now. Can you sell this fishing rod to me?"
Old lady Jiang hastily uttered an apology, "Miss Su, don't be angry, the old man didn't do it on purpose."
Su Han shook her head and explained, "I know. I want to leave not because others found out about the valley, but because it's time for me to go. I don't mind losing our fishing spot, but what do you think is going to happen after they caught all the fish?"
She continued before the two of them could say anything, "After gnawing on tree barks and roots, those people outside can probably do anything for the sake of food. I have to find a hidden place to take shelter from all the looting and robing that's going to happen soon."
Old He was puzzled. "Why don't you just stay here then?"
Su Han smiled weakly. If she stayed, she might be tempted to help out if something happened to them. She could hardly look after herself. How would she have extra energy to take care of others…
It's better to be passers-by in each other's lives. That way, they don't have to be responsible for one another.
*****
Old He could see that Su Han had already made up her mind to leave. He let out a sigh and said, "Don't talk about buying, I'll give you that fishing rod for free. You helped us a lot during this period, our family is indebted to you."
Su Han thought for a while before nodding.
After chatting, old, He enthusiastically persuaded her, "The sky's getting dark, just stay here one more night and leave tomorrow morning, okay?"
Su Han agreed with a smile.
The next morning, old lady Jiang finished cooking breakfast and saw that Su Han still hadn't come out of her bedroom, so she went knocking on the door.
She knocked for a long time, but no one answered.
"Are you inside? I'm coming in." There was no answer, so old lady Jiang opened the bedroom door after waiting for a while.
Only then did she realize there was no one inside the room. Instead, she found some brown bread, milk, soap, and instant noodles on the table. The total value of these things was much higher than the fishing rod Su Han took.
"So, there are still good people in the world." The old lady murmured with gratitude.
*****
Su Han sat on the bench at the side of the road in deep thoughts. Money is no different from waste paper now. Thefts and robberies are becoming common occurrences. How should she protect herself? What can she do to ensure her safety?
At exactly 9 am, the mechanical voice of the system sounded again, "On the 11th day, the price of all goods rose by 100%."
After announcing the increase in price this time, the system didn't stop but continued to say, "The supermarket inventories are running low. The government will implement a purchase restriction policy, effective immediately."
*****
All of a sudden, Su Han felt someone approaching her sneakily.
She swiftly took out the slingshot and aimed it at the incoming person.
"Don't be impulsive! It's me!" The one yelling nervously was Wei Minzhe.
Her posture remained unchanged. She asked with a frown, "It's already the 11th day, why haven't you left the instance yet?"
'After you've survived for 10 days in an instance, you can already request the system to transfer you out, so why is this guy still not leaving?'
Wei Minzhe awe-inspiring declaration stated, "The more days you survive, the faster your level goes up, so of course, I can't give up so easily! Besides, there are extra rewards if you successfully stayed in the instance for 20 days, which is why I have to try my best."
Su Han looked like she wanted to let the steel bead fly right towards his face.
Wei Minzhe was anxious, "Wait! Wait! Let's all calm down and talk nicely!"
"I'm going to give you one last chance." This Wei Minzhe is acting weird.
Wei Minzhe had no choice but to come clean, "Of course it's obviously for the final rewards. The survivors ranked 1000-10000 will be rewarded 10,000 yuan, those who ranked 100-1000 will be rewarded 100,000 yuan, and the top 100 will get 1 million yuan. Even if I can't get into top 100, I have to at least get into the top 10,000!"
She lowered her hand and put away the slingshot. She knew that the players lasting until the last round of the competition would win cash rewards according to their ranks, but she wasn't interested in that.
Wei Minzhe carefully observed the person in front of him, and he asked perplexingly, "Did you get robbed or something? Why do you look a little shabby?"
Su Han lied with a straight face, "The game is getting harder and harder, it's hard to look neat."
Wherever she looked, the pedestrians were all unkempt and dirty. If she looked too clean and neat in this situation, she might look like a cash cow inviting others to come and rob her.
So, Su Han turned herself into a dirty mouse and integrated herself into the mass.
*****
Wei Minzhe only felt that the phrase "the game is getting harder and harder" resonated with his heart! Since entering the instance, he has been pitted all the way, living this whole time miserably.
Wei Minzhe's blood surged, and he passionately said to Su Han, "Don't say I didn't take care of you. Someone asked for my help with a huge business opportunity, I can tell them to take you, do you dare to come with me?"
Su Han: '…Why did he sound like he's luring her into a bandit's den?'
"What kind of business?" Su Han asked curiously.
Wei Minzhe told her with a profound gaze, "Robbing the rich and helping the poor."
…
Su Han was annoyed, 'What did the rich ever do to you? What's wrong with having money?'
If he and his companions knew about the supplies in her warehouse, would these 'righteous heroes' also rob her using this excuse?
On the surface, she calmly asked, "Where?"
"Supermarkets, hospitals, restaurants!" Wei Minzhe reported three places in one breath.
Su Han refused without hesitation, "Go if you want to, I'm not going." There was no robbery in her survival plan.
Wei Minzhe felt very helpless, 'It's just a game, why are you taking this so seriously? It's not as if we're committing robbery in real life.'
Because their goals were different, the two parted ways after the conversation. Su Han continued to sit for a while, then walked to the wooded area in the park, planning to hunt some birds.
She had been to the park once when she first entered the instance. At that time, the park was filled with sounds of animals chattering noisily. Unsurprisingly, the park was completely silent at this moment. "I guess that there's nothing left here." Su Han shook her head and left the park.