RITW 5: Parrot

Yu Qunqing tightly gripped his weapon and leaned it against a bare wire. Then he exerted a little force, and sparks splattered from the wire.

“The voltage is too high… I’m not very good at controlling this ability. Even at Level 1, it’s still very dangerous,” Yu Qunqing muttered, reminding himself not to act too arrogant just because he had a game system. He tried again, lowering the output voltage and controlling the frequency to convert it into an alternating current instead of direct current.

In a short while, the machines throughout Túfù Supermarket buzzed, and the lights gradually illuminated from near to far.

Some small animals ran out, showing no signs of being affected by the disasters. It was safe.

Yu Qunqing released his weapon, feeling a bit exhausted, but it was still better than being rendered powerless after being attacked.

Now was his hunting time!

However, as he passed through the daily necessities section, he accidentally knocked down a calendar. With a glance, he discovered that it would be “Frostfall,” (1) a significant seasonal festival, in three days.

Level 1 natural disaster, the Eight-Legged Frostfall!

In his previous life, on the day of the first frost forming, Jiangbei City experienced an unprecedented week-long heavy rainfall, with a single day recording a rainfall of 1600 millimeters. People could hardly breathe under the torrential rain. Sinkholes frequently appeared in the city center, turning it into a vast expanse of water. The shelters in the suburbs urgently relocated to higher ground. People waded through the mud, carrying their belongings, fearing being swept away by the flood at any moment.

Those three days of heavy rain seemed to encompass the entire year’s rainfall in Jiangbei City. After that, not a single drop of water fell. The expedition teams ventured out to search, only to discover that a colossal calamity had monopolized all water resources. It hatched and grew elsewhere, arriving in the city on the day of the first frostfall, its massive body concealed within the dark clouds. People could only see its eight thick and sturdy tentacles, hence it was called the “Eight-Legged Frostfall.”

Yu Qunqing’s originally excited mood quickly cooled. The speed of human growth was far behind the speed at which calamities grew. He needed to become stronger even faster and make more preparations.

He immediately felt the urgency of time, picked up two bags of rice, and started running. His bicycle was parked outside the door, looking vulnerable. He also found a modified electric delivery scooter nearby. There were a few unclaimed packages inside, but he couldn’t manage that much and threw the rice into the small cargo compartment.

The vegetables had all rotted, and the meat section was filled with a putrid smell. He didn’t want any of it. Yu Qunqing found some dried goods, like dried mushrooms, dried beancurd sheets, and dried vegetables. At least it was vegetarian food, so he packed them up. The cured meat seemed edible, so he took it with him. The bucket of dried shrimp looked usable too, so he took that as well. By this time, the small delivery scooter was already filled up halfway. The staple food section had been almost completely cleared out.

Next was the snack section. People had gone crazy grabbing snacks before the apocalypse, so there weren’t many leftovers. The most remaining were the black truffle-flavored instant noodles, a flavor that everyone had disliked before the apocalypse. Yu Qunqing struggled internally. He had eaten a lot of those in his previous life, almost losing his sense of taste. He decided to check out something else. His cargo space was running out, and he needed to be selective. If everything was fine later, he would come back to take them.

He found several boxes of biscuits, powdered beverages, and some high-calorie canned food. This way, he filled up the remaining cargo space.

Yu Qunqing unzipped his backpack with a swift motion and continued to pack things inside. First, he put in some paper and pens. These things were not usually valued, but they became extremely precious when multiple people needed to communicate, especially in a society without internet or signal. Then he added the basic seasonings, three large packs of salt and sugar, followed by cooking oil. He squeezed in some candies in every nook and cranny. It didn’t matter which brand, he just grabbed a handful.

Yu Qunqing shifted his gaze to the top of the delivery scooter.

On top, he placed raincoats, knives, nylon ropes, batteries, water bottles, protective gear…

Yu Qunqing also needed a player that could be modified into a wireless radio transmitter.

The electronics section was on the suspended half of the supermarket. There were still many cracks on the ground, and the entire space seemed precarious.

To reduce pressure, Yu Qunqing found a wooden board to slide on. These were experiences he had gained in his previous life. Half of the people in the apocalypse died from calamities, while the other half died from various accidents, big and small. Suddenly collapsing caves, exploding gas cylinders, and high concentrations of carbon monoxide from burning charcoal… all were lethal factors.

He found some children’s walkie-talkies and collected them all.

Then he looked towards the checkout counter, thinking about his remaining tens of thousands of coins in the game. There were very few things he could buy with that. If there were banknotes at the cash register… even a small amount would be a great gain!

The cash register was at the corner, and he slowly slid over to get a clear view. The employee passage next to it was also open. There was a birdcage hanging on the door with a bald parrot inside.

Yu Qunqing: “You’re still alive?”

It turned out there was an automatic feeder hanging next to it, and there was plenty of food stored inside. The water hadn’t evaporated completely either. So the parrot had managed to survive in a desperate state. Its back feathers were gray, and its belly was a thin shade of blue, looking quite unhealthy.

“I don’t know if you being alive is lucky or unfortunate…” Yu Qunqing took the birdcage down and used his finger to poke the parrot’s beak. The parrot tilted its head and rubbed against his finger, seemingly understanding.

Yu Qunqing couldn’t help but think of a former teammate, imagining that they would have loved to see this. He decided to keep it as a playful companion. There were no people nearby, and he didn’t know when he would break through the encirclement of the Fourth Ring Road. Having a living creature to talk to would be comforting.

He slowly took down the birdcage. As a result, it was connected to the automatic feeder, which was welded to the iron door? The entire iron door was already heavily corroded, and with a slight movement, the entire door came off. With a clang, the iron door crashed to the ground, leaving only the birdcage in his hand. The echo reverberated in the confined space, causing a chain reaction.

“Click-clack.”

It was the sound of steel reinforcement slowly breaking.

He quickly rushed to the other side of the supermarket that was not suspended. He rolled on the ground to dodge the light tubes falling from the ceiling. However, the cracks splitting the supermarket were getting larger, and the entire floor tilted to one side, shaking off more and more dust. Now it was purely a physical survival challenge!

He exerted force with his waist and jumped forward, landing precisely on the edge of the fissure. An entire section of the ceiling grazed his back and came crashing down with a tremendous roar, sending clouds of dust billowing upward like smoke.

Yu Qunqing first managed to put the birdcage up, his fingers gripping the ground, turning white with exertion. Then he struggled to climb back to the ground before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Looking up now, the sky was hazy and gray. Looking down, there was a cave several tens of meters deep filled with steel bars and cement. Pre-apocalypse promotional posters of famous stars were hanging on the pipes, fluttering in the wind.

Sighing at the omnipresence of the Grim Reaper, Yu Qunqing picked up the backpack filled with goods next to the shelves. With the birdcage in one hand, he finally finished this trip of scavenging supplies from the supermarket.

“Let me give you a name. Wait, what’s under your belly?” Yu Qunqing flicked open the parrot’s belly with his finger, and a ring underneath shone brightly in the sunlight, reflecting a captivating light.

He heard that there were some cases of internal theft in this area before the apocalypse… So the stolen goods were hidden here?

Regardless, this ring should be worth a first-time top-up of 6 diamonds, right?

“Ding-dong! Kryptonite request detected. Although the system is currently undergoing upgrades and maintenance, the Kryptonite channel is always open. The benefits of the first-time top-up will be credited to the player’s account after the game is launched!”

Yu Qunqing: “Alright, alright, here you go. Next, I’ll go plunder some jewelry stores and become a noble monthly card member…”

“Ding-dong! Recharge service has been successfully processed for you, data processing in progress. Looking forward to your next visit!”

Yu Qunqing drove the delivery truck back to the residential area. Since there was a barrier gate blocking his way, he simply dumped all the goods at the entrance of the community and left. Three days later, there was a heavy rainstorm that severely restricted travel. Now, during the time when the temperature and humidity were moderate, it was the golden time for exploration.

He walked while drawing a map: to the east was Túfù Supermarket, surrounded by office buildings. There might be convenience stores, cafes, and other shops in the office buildings, but it was too dangerous to venture inside. To the south was a large square, with a bustling commercial center underground and direct access to the subway. The entrances had all collapsed. On the ground, there were only decorative sculptures. People used to enjoy feeding birds here.

In the west, Yu Qunqing encountered the first calamity gathering point.

The previous commercial buildings were now packed with trees, and the roads were filled with branches. From a distance, it looked like an emerald sea. However, upon closer inspection, two bright red eyes could be seen within the treetops. If they were disturbed, a giant fruit fly-like insect would emerge from inside. Their long mouthparts were connected to the branches, while their bodies remained immobile. Although the range of movement for the insects was limited, they were lightning fast. Typically, the insect bodies captured live creatures and pressed them against the tree trunks, allowing the toxic sap secreted by the bark to decompose the prey.

Tree Trap Flies, a Grade F calamity, gregarious in nature, capable of evolving into a Grade G calamity.

Yu Qunqing changed colors on his paper to record the situation in this area, then cautiously walked around them. Almost the entire street was their territory. Yu Qunqing surveyed the surrounding topography and discovered that this area was a low-lying area.

So, when the rainstorm arrived, could he use lightning to wipe them out in one fell swoop?

Achieve the greatest result with the least effort!

Yu Qunqing also placed roadblocks on the road, indicating extreme danger ahead.

“Ding-dong, system upgrade complete. Please go to the main game page to claim compensation.”

His stamina!

He must ride back within half an hour, or he’ll be at a big loss!

Yu Qunqing hurried back, moving at lightning speed. He also made a makeshift hoist to transfer the supplies to the second floor. Then he ran back to his own house.

The screen was still lit. The system prompt sounded:

“Leisure Mini Game System 2.0 version installed, introducing game materialization functionality. Unlocked upon completing the ‘Fountain Repair’ mission.”

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Footnotes:

1) “霜降” literally translates to “frost descends” or “frost falling”. This is a Chinese term that refers to one of the 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese calendar. It falls around October 23rd each year and signifies the arrival of colder weather when frost begins to form. I couldn’t figure out a good way to translate this, so I just went with “frostfall”.