Chapter Nine: Delivering Supplies to the Family

【Absolutely not!】

Since the supplies couldn’t be divided, Liang Yi had to allocate them with great caution.

In the end, she decided to send one pack of instant noodles each to her parents and her eldest sister, while her younger brother would receive a bottle of mineral water.

Her parents and eldest sister were struggling to survive and escape, which consumed a lot of energy and likely required food for sustenance.

As for her younger brother, he was busy with construction work and might discover something valuable. However, from her brief glance earlier, there was no river nearby, so a bit of water would suffice.

“Experience Officer, you may leave an additional message for them to ensure they believe these supplies are edible, but remember not to reveal anything about the game,” the game assistant reminded after Liang Yi finished distributing the supplies.

“If you do, we will revoke all your privileges.”

Hearing this, Liang Yi began pondering what message to leave.

She had no intention of mentioning the game from the start, as it would only cause them worry.

“All family members are safe; we will reunite someday,” she wrote.

The game assistant handed her paper and pen. To avoid mistakes, Liang Yi steadied herself by gripping the vehicle’s interior with both hands and anchoring her feet inside. Using the light from the convenience store, she lay on the car roof and carefully penned the words.

To assure her family that the note was indeed from her and that the supplies were safe to eat, she drew a small flower at the end.

The flower had five petals, each bearing the initial of a family member’s name, a design Liang Yi had created back when her youngest brother was born during a boring class.

As they grew, the design was refined further.

Before entering the game, all five family members used the same image on their social media accounts—only the flower petals were rotated so that each person’s top petal displayed their own initial.

No one else knew about this.

After the game assistant verified the message and distribution, the supplies were delivered to each family member.

Once everything was sent, Liang Yi felt an immense relief.

Even with little ability to sense danger, she now realized that the surrounding darkness held many watchful threats.

A chill ran down her spine.

Without hesitation, trembling with fear, she retreated inside the vehicle and slammed the door shut.

Meanwhile, her parents were struggling to make their way home.

Though they were in a disaster-ravaged apocalypse, the environment around them was an exact replica of their familiar surroundings.

Thus, upon arriving home, they were still unaware of the full situation.

Their phones repeatedly displayed red alerts for heavy rain.

Liang Yi’s parents kept calling their children repeatedly, barely willing to eat or drink.

Surprised by the sudden appearance of unfamiliar supplies at home, they soon spotted the note.

Upon reading it, her mother clutched the paper to her chest, tears streaming down her face.

“It’s Xiao Yi, our precious little Yi,” she whispered.

Her father was equally moved but still confused about what was happening.

He studied the note carefully, pondering the meaning behind “we will reunite someday.”

After learning that all three children were safe, they felt a measure of relief.

Since they had plenty of food and drink at home, the instant noodles were stored away in a cabinet.

Then, the two sat together, debating whether to take advantage of the shallow flooding to venture out and gather more supplies.

At the same time, Liang Yi’s sister, Liang Ya, had escaped the zombie siege and was hiding in a high-rise with two other survivors.

Upon questioning them, she learned that they were in a zombie apocalypse.

There were fifty thousand players in this zombie apocalypse world, with the rest being various NPCs.

Some of those escaping with her were NPCs who could provide standard responses about the current situation.

Unaware of this, Liang Ya assumed they were ordinary humans.

She was shocked to discover the zombie apocalypse had been ongoing for two months.

Being older and composed, she kept her thoughts to herself.

After a day of fleeing, hunger gnawed at them all.

With no food, they resorted to sleep to stave off starvation.

In the darkness, Liang Ya suddenly felt something fall onto her.

At first, she thought someone was warning her of danger or trying to communicate.

But when she reached down, she realized it was a plastic package, crackling softly in her hands.

She looked around, then carefully brought the package to the window.

By the moonlight, she saw it was a pack of instant noodles.

A note was attached, which read, “All family members are safe; we will reunite someday.”

Knowing her sister’s habits well, Liang Ya’s anxiety eased slightly as she touched the flower on the note.

Relieved that her family was safe, she clutched the noodles to her chest and silently wept.

Trying not to be heard, she covered her mouth tightly.

However, the faint sobbing was too jarring in the still night.

An irritable female NPC nearby heard the noise, picked up a shoe from the ground, and threw it at Liang Ya.

“Quit crying! Can’t anyone sleep here?”

“If you’re not going to sleep, then get out!”

Others were also awakened and began grumbling at Liang Ya.

She wiped her tears, apologized quietly, and hid the noodles behind her, fearing they would be discovered.

Comforted by the knowledge that her family was safe, Liang Ya leaned against the wall and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Liang Yi’s younger brother, Liang Ning, had just graduated high school and was a nearly defenseless soon-to-be adult with only two months before his birthday.

On this desolate, endless island, fear was his constant companion.

Fortunately, a transparent light screen hovered before him, and with the game’s prompts, he understood that construction was his task.

Daily check-ins awarded some supplies, and completing missions gave rewards as well.

But on his first day, Liang Ning only received a wooden axe.

His first mission was to repair a rundown wooden shelter.

Staring at the axe and the dense forest behind him, with trees at least thirty centimeters in diameter, he pondered—could this wooden axe really cut down trees?

Determined to survive and reunite with his family, Liang Ning tried various ways to chop wood to build shelter.

As he expected, the wooden axe looked sturdy but was useless; after a few swings, it broke.

Speechless, he resorted to breaking branches with his bare hands.

After a day of hard work, he achieved little—only a handful of branches gathered.