Armed with new equipment, Kuang Xin turned around and headed straight back into the pitch-black forest.
It must be nighttime in the game world, with a cold moon hanging in the heavy clouds above.
She tried her best, but could only see through the faint misty light.
This meant visibility for Kuang Xin was very low.
Of course, it wasn't the best time for hunting, but it didn't matter!
Difficulties apply to everyone, only effort is visible to oneself.
I'm going to work hard in secret tonight, and take down those stinking fools.
Once again delving into the woods, Kuang Xin treaded lightly.
In the silent forest, the only sound was the gentle "creak" beneath her feet.
Kuang Xin summoned all her focus, her eyes widening as she carefully observed everything in the forest.
The silhouettes of branches cast shadows on the grey curtain above, as a light breeze whistled by, and the devil's minions readied themselves in the darkness.
No moving shadow could escape his watchful eye.
He, Kuang Xin, the top-level hunter in Galaxy Online!
Tonight, was going to be an exhilarating hunt!
"Squeak squeak~"
The ignorant little beast searched for food in its nighttime domain, sniffing the ground inch by inch with its soft, pale nose, trying to find plant roots buried deep beneath the soil.
It was completely unaware that the top-level hunter was already stealthily approaching from behind.
20 meters! 15 meters! 10 meters! 8 meters!
With previous experience, Kuang Xin moved even more professionally and lightly this time.
Holding the pistol... she hesitated for a moment, but eventually decided not to fire her last bullet, instead tucking the gun into her waistband.
The first shot was satisfying, firing 4 out of the 5 bullets.
But who knew acquiring resources in this game would be so difficult?
The first quest was so challenging, and the chance to buy bullets with Black Water Coins seemed far off, not to mention Hans never brought it up.
With only one bullet left, Kuang Xin decided to save it, resolving not to shoot again until facing real danger.
7 meters! 6 meters! 5 meters!
Seemingly sensing the approaching hunter behind it, the little beast turned its head vigilantly, catching a glimpse of Kuang Xin's shadow in the corner of its eye before bursting out with wild energy and darting away.
"Don't run!"
Kuang Xin gritted her teeth and yelled, lunging forward fiercely.
She brushed aside the branches in her way, ignoring the cobwebs and debris that swept across her face.
However, the forest was ultimately not the humans' home court, and the uninjured little creature moved like a fish in water, weaving freely.
With a physical strength of 11, Kuang Xin could only follow clangingly behind, watching helplessly as the beast got farther and farther away.
In his urgency, Kuang Xin wasn't paying attention to his footing and got tripped by an old vine from a large tree, tumbling over in a mess.
"Fuck! It's so hard to chase!"
Lying on the ground, Kuang Xin gasped for breath and gave up, pulling out the makeshift gun from his waist and looking at it with complex eyes.
"Only one left."
Without bullets to shoot first, it's really hard to catch those wild little creatures in a place like this.
Bullets... bullets...
Where can I get more bullets...
Uh~ It feels a bit cold.
Lying on the ground, Kuang Xin huddled up as the chill from the ground seeped up his spine and spread through his body.
So, he sat up with a kick like a carp flipping over, mumbling in his mind—
This game is indeed realistically made; even the sense of pores tightening and hair standing on end has been replicated.
Hmm~ It feels like someone is watching me.
As if possessed, he turned his head, and saw dim, unstable red flashes flickering in and out of visibility beneath the grey curtain...
"..."
In the dim light, the red flashes slowly moved out of the shadows and into Kuang Xin's line of sight.
Needle-like fur reflected a dark, glossy gleam, and the crimson eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty intent to kill.
A pack of wolves?
High-level monsters!
But they can't be defeated.
One bullet certainly can't kill all the monsters in front of me.
Run!
In a panic, Kuang Xin scrambled to his feet and ran.
The death penalty in Galaxy Online is quite severe; players can be critically injured, can be left with a sliver of health, but cannot actually die.
Death here means starting over, with no save points, nor any chance for revival.
You could only switch characters and start from the beginning.
And switching characters has a cooldown, once every three days.
This meant that even if you have the chance to start over, within those three days, you can only die once, die one more time...
I'm going to die without Galaxy Online to play!
Even though he had just started playing, the rich rewards and realistic interaction system in the game had already fascinated Kuang Xin immensely.
Of course, it was said that once one advanced to a higher level, there might be ways to escape death, but that was clearly not something to consider at the moment.
Seeing their prey expose its back, the brutal hunters stopped probing and charged ferociously.
"Bang!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The sound of gunfire also suddenly erupted from somewhere further away to the side.
The trembling of the earth seemed even more violent than on their own side.
Kuang Xin, hell-bent on escaping, had no time to pay attention to anything else and even hoped the others could draw away a few of the monsters for him.
"Ho~ Ho~"
The low growl from the throats of the hunters as they ran was like a soul-snatching death knell.
The prey was close at hand, emitting the fragrance of food; the taste of fresh flesh and blood drove them into an insane frenzy.
Kuang Xin bit his teeth and sprinted desperately, occasionally feeling as if those creatures with barbed tongues had already licked his buttocks.
"Why the hell are they all chasing ME!"
Luckily, the previous pursuit hadn't gone too deep into the woods, and the trees ahead were getting sparser.
Hope was in sight, and Kuang Xin mustered all the strength he could.
[You have surpassed your physical limits through strenuous exercise. Physical Stamina +0.1.]
Kuang Xin leapt out of the forest, gasping for air, feeling like he had never pushed himself to such a limit since the 1000-meter test in middle school.
Standing in place with his hands on his knees, Kuang Xin was determined to give in to his exhaustion.
No more running!
Dammit, he wouldn't run anymore today no matter who came for him!
It was just a remake! Who was he afraid of!
In the shadow of the bushes, those crimson eyes seemed to fear the world beyond the forest.
Those places had terrifying erect-walking creatures; for a mere two pieces of meat... it seemed not to be worth the risk.
Staring intently at the seeming decoy that was Kuang Xin, the wolves receded quietly like the tide, without a sound.
"Ha~ Ha~"
He had survived!
What a relief!
"Hahahaha!"
Someone suddenly laughed aloud on the empty land.
Kuang Xin looked up and saw several figures just as wretched as himself standing on the clearing outside the forest.
"..."
The feeling of escaping death didn't seem so beautiful all of a sudden.
"Jerks!"
"Guys, are you also here for a quest?"
Encountering jerks in a foreign land wasn't good news that made one happy.
But since all of them were new to this unfamiliar game, maybe they could exchange some information they had on hand.
"Yes... they told me to go in and pick some mushrooms, but I can't see anything in the dead of night!"
"Hey! My task is even more absurd. They asked me to dig for some roots, but I dug and dug and found nothing."
"What rewards did you guys get?"
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.
"Ahaha~"
"Nothing much, just a little bit of experience."
While they were talking, another figure approached from the direction of the gathering.
The newcomer approached with a puzzled look, asking respectfully, "Excuse me, sir, is this the Black Forest?"
"Yeah, are you here for a quest?" one of the panting players responded casually.
"Yes... are you also players?"
The newcomer seemed delighted, as it was difficult to distinguish real people from NPCs in a game where no names floated above heads.
"Of course."
The newcomer looked around, "Then I wonder what you guys are doing here..."
One of the players catching his breath with his hands on his knees waved his hand dismissively and said casually.
"Oh~ we're just resting here... We just finished fighting a BOSS, we've got no bullets and no strength left. There's a BOSS inside, badly injured."
Badly injured?
The newcomer's eyes lit up, "I see... I'll go have a look then."
"Hey hey! That's the BOSS we left in bad shape!"
The newcomer didn't reply, as if he hadn't heard, and plunged into the forest without looking back.
"..."
The other players who had been chased out by the wolf pack snickered covertly, tacitly remaining silent, waiting to see the joke play out.
But just a moment later...
"Aaaaahhhh! Help me!"
"Hahahahaha!"