RITW 6: Game Update

The interface of the screen seemed to have changed a bit, resembling the default interface of a mobile phone. There was a game icon on it: “Mediterranean Butler Love Elimination.” There was also an email icon with a red badge displaying the number 1 in the upper left corner. Next to it was a dotted box displaying the message “Requires 1000 Exploration Points to Unlock (Currently 36 Exploration Points).”

The system timely provided an explanation: “This system is a leisure mini-game system with a variety of puzzle and casual games. Please explore diligently to unlock new game slots and enjoy a richer gaming experience!”

Yu Qunqing opened the mailbox.

“Dear player: Hello! The system upgrade is complete, and the version reward is: ‘Antarctic Penguin Farm Story’ game seed X1, available for download with the game slot. Have a pleasant gaming experience!”

Yu Qunqing seemed intrigued and reached out to grab something in front of the screen. Instantly, a red mist-like gas appeared in his hand. The world before his eyes instantly inverted colors, with the sky turning black, the floor turning green, and the leaves turning red. At the same time, the system kept issuing warnings:

“Ding dong! The region has completed the download of the game ‘Mediterranean Butler Love Elimination.’ Please choose another empty space! Ding dong! Insufficient game slots, please obtain enough Exploration Points to unlock the game slots. Ding dong…”

In his field of view, a yellow circle surrounded the entire residential area, which should be the designated game download range mentioned by the system.

He let go, and the seed in his hand floated back into the screen, restoring tranquility to his ears. Yu Qunqing pondered. So, there were three conditions for downloading the new game: game seeds, game slots, and game download area.

Just as he went to find a bunch of food, the system gave him a farm game as a gift. It was as if the system was trying to ensure his survival. However, there was still a significant gap in his Exploration Points, and he still needed to find more food to overcome this challenge.

Opening “Mediterranean Butler Love Elimination,” it was discovered that there were also emails within the game:

“The server maintenance for this session has ended. Thank you for your patience. As a token of appreciation, we are giving away Infinite Stamina Apples (valid for 30 minutes/expiring in two days) X3, Apple Slices (each consumption restores 2 stamina points) X3, Crosswater Gun X1, Windmill X1, Rainbow Candy X1, and 1000 gold coins.”

Indeed, as the saying goes, wealth and prosperity rely on maintenance.

The second email read:

“The offline recharge has been credited to your account. Your game account currently has 6 diamonds. A First Recharge Gift Pack is also available: Congratulations, Fortune Tree (Quality: Treasure) X1. You can claim it.”

Yu Qunqing once again reached out, grabbing a green mist-like substance in his hand. The world before his eyes inverted colors, and the floor divided into multiple grids. If the mist was placed in an unsuitable location, the grid underneath it would turn red. There were also hints under the beach chair. Since he had only decorated the living room and kitchen so far, he could only move new furniture in these two areas.

Finally, Yu Qunqing placed it next to the beach chair. There was already a coconut tree beside the beach chair, and adding the Congratulations Fortune Tree made it look perfectly symmetrical.

“Bang.”

As Yu Qunqing let go, a fully-grown Fortune Tree bonsai, as tall as an adult, stood next to the beach chair, adorned with several festive red envelopes. The envelopes had a prompt: “7 hours until maturity, can be harvested when ripe.”

Indeed, treasures had a few more functions compared to rare furniture…

He decided to save the 6 diamonds he had received and accumulate them until he reached 18 diamonds to purchase a monthly card. Years of gaming experience had taught him that monthly cards were always more cost-effective than gift packs.

Yu Qunqing spent 12,000 gold coins in the in-game store to buy a parrot house. After all, it had earned him 6 diamonds, so he couldn’t mistreat it. The blue-bellied parrot rested on a branch, enjoying a rare opportunity to sleep safely.

Then he lay on the beach chair and started playing the match-three game. With a swipe of his finger, the colorful disaster stones on the screen were continuously eliminated. Just now, he learned how to touch the screen without physical contact, finally freeing himself from rubbing the screen with his hands.

He started by consuming an Infinite Stamina Apple and smoothly passed Level 41.

Yu Qunqing also enabled the game sound effects, enjoying the pleasant tinkling sound when the disaster stones were eliminated.

“Ding.” The system’s notification sound sounded somewhat resentful. “The player promised to redecorate the living room…”

Yu Qunqing responded, “The living room looks pretty good.”

Next to the beach chair was a retro Chinese-style tea table, directly facing a cyberpunk-style sofa. The sofa was predominantly silver-gray, smooth and polished, except for a corner that had a hole revealing exposed wires, with various colorful advertisements stuck on the backrest. The combination of high technology and the lower class was indeed a pure cyberpunk style, but it didn’t match the atmosphere of the living room.

Yu Qunqing fell silent for a few seconds and said, “I think the original interior design was better.”

The system grew anxious, “That was just a replica of a model house, devoid of any fun! Players should fully experience the game, and the system specifically refers to the decoration aspect…”

Yu Qunqing had always enjoyed the match-three part of the game.

“I’ll start redecorating soon,” Yu Qunqing promised the system to prevent it from continuously sounding the “ding” of discontent. “I absolutely won’t stand you up.”

Half an hour quickly passed, and Yu Qunqing cleared 18 levels. During this half hour, he relied on the unlimited stamina and restarted the game whenever the initial layout was unfavorable until he obtained a more harmonious arrangement. The luck in the match-three game always outweighed the skills.

Now he had 21 hexagram stars.

The redecoration process didn’t consume hexagram stars. He started with the wallpaper, choosing a more subtle and elegant geometric pattern. He opted for pure white skirting boards and selected plain white relief decorations for the corner lines, where the walls met the ceiling.

The sofa was replaced with a black light luxury style, and the coffee table became a metal-framed glass table, mainly to match the nearby beach chair. The pillows turned into a light yellow fish jerky shape, and the carpet transformed into an irregular, long-haired camel-colored rug. On the low table, colorful porcelain and a rainbow umbrella complemented each other. The entire living room finally had a bit of harmony.

“Replace the TV stand, wall lamp, and low stool. Let’s put a cactus here since the living room already has so many plants.” Yu Qunqing changed the remaining furniture to a similar style. He wasn’t sure about the specific aesthetic, as long as it looked pleasing to the eye.

The entire living room was refreshed, and he started to appreciate the fun of the decoration game—a sense of accomplishment in transforming everything from chaos to order.

“Area – Living room, decoration completed. Reward: 1500 gold coins. Open balcony area.”

As the system’s sound finished, the entire living room appeared more exquisite, as if a filter had been applied. Even the lighting became softer.

Yu Qunqing didn’t have time to dwell on it; he quickly opened the balcony area. Tonight, he wanted to rest well, and the balcony’s defense had to be well-prepared.

A hexagram star slowly disintegrated, and the charred ground of the balcony instantly transformed. He chose to replace it with the same stone texture as the living room, instantly doubling the visual impact of the entire space. The living room now appeared to be semi-open and partially exposed to the outdoors.

There was a transparent barrier around the balcony, firmly rejecting any harmful guests.

Yu Qunqing added a plant stand filled with succulents. He also placed a swing chair, a round table, and a telescope. Against the wall, he added a freezer to turn this place into a great spot for stargazing.

“If only this was before the apocalypse,” Yu Qunqing sighed as he ran out of hexagram stars, unable to help but feel nostalgic.

Now his stamina was also depleted, but his gaming journey was far from over.

The weekend event of the “Star Power Station” in the game had ended, replaced by a special event from Monday to Wednesday called “Building Materials Explosion.”

The gameplay of this event was slightly different from the usual match-three puzzles. These levels only had obstacles in the form of multiple layers of ice. By eliminating the ice layers and revealing the wood underneath the debris, players could obtain abundant building materials. When the upper half of the screen’s ice layers were cleared, the screen would move down, providing a continuous supply of building materials.

These levels also had a specified number of moves. Clearing half of the ice layers would reward players with 15 additional moves, and the game would end when the move count reached zero. No power-ups could be used. Players had only five attempts per day to challenge these levels.

As for the usage of the building materials, the game hinted that they would be unlocked after completing the “Fountain Repair” task.

In summary, it was a gameplay mode that relied more on a specific elimination strategy.

“You need to combine more yellow rubber duck balloons and water guns.”

The fun of match-three puzzles probably lieshere. It seemed brainless, but when playing, one couldn’t help but explore different strategies. Casual games were anything but relaxing.

After finishing the game, Yu Qunqing used an electric rice cooker to cook a pot of rice and soaked the dried mushrooms. Yu Qunqing wasn’t skilled in cooking. His culinary skills were at a level where he at least wouldn’t starve. He also sliced two onions and some green onions, stir-frying all the ingredients together in a wok. The rice was fragrant, the mushrooms were savory, and the purple onions not only enriched the flavor but also added visual appeal to the dish. Most importantly, he cooked a large pot, and Yu Qunqing finally had a satisfying meal.

　　……

Following the Crocodile River downstream, one can enter the hilly area. The river branches out into many small streams here before converging again after bypassing the hills. This place is also the junction of three cities, so the highways are well constructed. In a rural tourist area on a small hill, the beacon of hope for humanity, a refuge from natural disasters, was established.

“It’s getting dark, we need to hurry back!” said the leader of an exploration team.

Each member of the team carried some wood or gasoline, and upon hearing the command, they hastened their ascent up the slope. Two young individuals fell slightly behind.

“You’re… Yu Yanlan?”

Yu Yanlan looked up in confusion and saw a stranger with an attractive appearance approaching him. He struggled to recall the person’s name. Was it something like Suo…?

“I’m Han Shuzhu,” the person introduced themselves directly, wasting no time. “If I’m not mistaken, you have awakened a disaster ability, right?”

“Ah?” Yu Yanlan’s eyes flashed with panic. He had a slightly nihilistic look with his three white eyes, and in this moment of panic, he appeared like an innocent lamb. The wood in his hand immediately dripped water, forming puddles that quickly dried up. “How did you know? I just discovered it… I was planning to inform the leader when we return.”

“That’s great,” Han Shuzhu felt a bit uncomfortable internally, but didn’t show it on the surface. “Your disaster ability, extracting moisture, is truly useful. You will definitely be highly valued.”

Then, he would shine brightly, be praised by everyone, meet the love of his life, and rely on the protection of a powerful figure to live a fulfilling life in the apocalypse.

“You’re a safety officer, and we might need to rely on you in the future,” Yu Yanlan, although a college student, understood some social etiquette. What he said was true. Han Shuzhu had a green label on his clothes, which meant “absolutely safe, impossible to mutate.”

A safety officer is a Level 0 individual in the apocalypse, with the advantage of not undergoing any mutation regardless of the level of radiation exposure. They are strategically placed in various important positions to ensure that critical aspects do not become paralyzed. Yu Yanlan thought he was a safety officer and was planning to apply for a green label after returning this time. However, unexpectedly, he awakened during the recent small crisis.

Awakened… Level up when exposed to radiation… Become stronger… but the possibility of turning into a monster also greatly increases. Could he lose his sanity and become a weapon of destruction, harming humanity?

Yu Yanlan was filled with worry.

“Do you have an older brother?” Han Shuzhu probed. He guessed the answer himself when he noticed Yu Yanlan’s unnatural expression. Taking a deep breath, he thought that he might not be an ordinary Level 0.

That book in his mind, it was his disaster ability!

Although the range of future glimpses he could access at the moment was limited, he could always level up. Moreover, leveling up wouldn’t increase the cosmic substance intensity in his cells, so he would still be seen as “absolutely safe” in the eyes of others.

He could consider himself having a cheat code now!

“What? You know Qunqing?” a weary woman squeezed through the crowd. She was Yu Yanlan’s mother, Liang Cai, and she had just joined their group after being in another team. “Do you know how he is? Is he here? Do you know where he is?”

“Mom—He has been with us the whole time,” Yu Yanlan frowned.

“You don’t understand. I’m worried about your brother. He didn’t answer my calls before, and I don’t know what happened to him. I opposed him going to university in the first place, but he wouldn’t listen. I tried to find him a job, but he wouldn’t listen. Look, he’s nowhere to be found now. I raised him with so much effort… Have you found a power bank? I want to make a call. Maybe he’ll answer,” Mrs. Liang said with a grieving expression.

“Who has a power bank now?” Yu Yanlan replied impatiently. He grabbed Han Shuzhu and walked away, ignoring his mother’s nagging.

This situation was almost identical to what was described in the book.

Han Shuzhu’s heart raced. He sighed and said, “Your brother’s parents seem concerned about him, but in the future, they push him out to block the knife. People’s true intentions are hidden. Indeed, villains can be both hateful and pitiable.”

“I’ve seen your brother a few times at work,” Han Shuzhu explained voluntarily.

“Oh,” Yu Yanlan’s mood was gloomy. After a while, he said, “What kind of person is he? Well, it’s a strange question. I haven’t really seen him…” More precisely, his face turned grim every time his parents mentioned him.

“Not easy to get along with,” Han Shuzhu recalled the contents of the book. “He is a very cold person, willing to do anything for his ultimate goal. He appears just and fair on the surface, but in reality, he lacks any human warmth. You could say he is cruel… Sorry, I forgot he is your brother.”

“It’s okay,” Yu Yanlan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a bit closer to Han Shuzhu for saying those words. He whispered, “I guess he’s just like that.”