Chapter 6

Translated by boilpoil Edited by boilpoil

The time for zombies to refresh is slower than resources – about half an hour. He must eliminate 8 normal zombies and 1 special zombie within this timeframe. The attack, defense and responsiveness of the special zombie are a whole stretch than that of normal zombies, while giving out proportionally higher experience.

Bright understands that he has to kill monsters and level up to get more resources, make equipment and upgrade the base. Otherwise if zombies attacked his home one day, were he to defend it behind a layer of rotting wooden boards?

Therefore, he is definitely not doing this just for the food.

He swallows, curves around to the back of a normal zombie, and swings at its neck.

He critically injured it, and the zombie falls to the ground.

Swing swing swing flail flail flail!

That motherfucking show! I haven’t even come out of the closet or lose my first kiss when you’re staging a fucking 18+ production on me.

Flail flail flail swing swing swing!

That fucking Ochrehair! I like your head in return, so snap it for me to kick as a ball!!

Bright completely gives up on maintaining his expression; the heroic face becomes twisted from anger. In each and every swing and flail, he is venting all his highly suppressed emotions out – hatred, fear, fury, all those perfect fertilisers for nurturing the flower of evil, is splayed onto the zombies by him.

As his stamina and power runs out, his soul calms down gradually, and becomes peaceful again.

Besides mushrooms, there are also berries.

He keeps picking them up until the sky darkens.

With his machete in hand on his return trip, he walks across the infested land again. This time he isn’t so lucky, as two zombies discovered him, and came at him from the left and right at the same time.

He went towards the closer one first, slashing it twice causing its HP to fall quickly. The zombie from the right is now here, and he could only lift his feet and kick the first one away before jumping back and tackling the second. He only discovered after killing the second one that the first one didn’t climb back up after being sent flying. So now he gets a new way of <s>venting</s> attacking.

Kick kick kick!

Stomp stomp stomp!

Crush crush crush!

Finishing up the zombies faster than the last time, Bright is in good spirits, and thinks it might have to do with levelling up—— not really .

Before the sky darkens completely, Bright managed to rush home.

Without lighting, he had to use the barbeque set in the dark.

Throw the mushrooms in, wait for 10 seconds, then three skewers of roasted mushrooms are ready.

Though no oil nor spices were added, the mushroom is now steamy hot, the oil making an appetising cracking sound, and the scent of the ground garlic and chopped green onion pleases the olfactory receptors.

Bright has now learned to ignore these idiosyncrasies, like how he is taking the mushroom out of the barbeque set holding the sharpened bamboo skewers.

He never thought mushroom can be so delectable.

Blackback is next to him, sitting down like the good boy it is.

“Does Latiao want some? Thanks for helping me stand guard today!”

He remembers that Blackback does not require dog food, and doesn’t know whether he can actually eat.

Latiao sniffs it twice before swallowing it whole, then it tilts its head waiting for me.

“We’re gonna be bros now!”

“Woof!”

“Number 199, you’re mental!”

Bright’s roommate, refused again when inviting him to the cafeteria, complains resentfully.

Only Bright and one other person passed in their dormitory room, the very person who said Bright wouldn’t last the first episode.

“Just drop it, he only drinks nutrient mixtures.” His companion drags him away.

His roommate looks as if he cannot stand the very sight of him, and always speaks to him indignantly. Bright suspects that if it weren’t for the show forbidding fights in private, that person would probably choke him to death when he’s sleeping.

That said, starmeat cast too wide a shadow on his mental state. He might have gone along if it were invitations to anything else.

He doesn’t go around provoking people, and he doesn’t mind being mocked verbally if it doesn’t escalate into physical harm. So he and his roommate are usually ignoring each other’s presences, so the situation is surprisingly calm.

Bright collects his nutrient mixture from the automatic resupply shelf, drinks it in two sips, then walks to the public training room.

This is where he most often spends his time.

A week has passed before anybody has noticed. And the contest for dropping 200 down to 100 is almost here. The atmosphere between the contestants tensed up a little, and there’s more people than usual in the training room.

While running, Bright hears someone persuading a strong guy behind him on the right, “I’ll let you bang me if you protect me.”

He almost slip and fell.

A few phrases find their way into his ears, ‘inside news,’ ‘group up.’

After training, he returns to his dormitory. His roommate looks at him as if he wanted to say something. Bright is worrying over the grouping up thing, and didn’t pay attention to him.

He doesn’t particularly feel safe with anyone here. He heard about a contestant who gave up helping out his companion, letting him bleed to death in the last episode. Even if it’s only a temporary alliance, and all contestants are in a competitive relationship, Bright still felt angry and would rather avoid people like that altogether.

Though he is bound to be disappointed as the show demands everyone make their own teams. Five people a team, get past obstacles and the first 20 teams to reach the finish line passes.

Right after the staff finished declaring the rules, every few contestants next to each other all group together orderly as if they have already decided beforehand. Bright realises that the so-called inside news was probably leaked on purpose by the show.

Ochrehair who provoked him in the celebration is laughing, seemingly pleased. His roommate is avoiding his eyes.

Bright thinks, so I was left out in isolation.

Quite a few people are in the same boat as him, basically the old, the weak, the sick or the disabled who are excluded by groups.

Everyone knows that number 199 will be a target this time. Even if he is young and strong, and looks like he can hold himself in a fight, nobody wants to team up with him.

Bright stands there, waiting in silence. He isn’t actively striking a conversation with people, looking cold but collected. Though he isn’t rejecting anyone who walks near him.

The first one is an aging 50 year old.

Then someone thin and small, like a bamboo, leading a big retard with snot hanging out of his nose.

Then someone else comes, and they managed to be a team somehow.

While the other teams are heatedly discussing their strategies, the 40 ^th team members are looking nonplussed at each other.

“Hahaha! It’s over for number 199!” The staff member assigned to monitor that team happened to be the one monitoring Bright before.

The staff leader gives a glance at the data for their team, and feels the same, “discharged veteran who’s a gambler, though he has experience, he’s already old; storehouse manager, convicted of rape, average on all counts, master of nothing; the Giant and the Dwarf is a pity though.”

The Giant and the Dwarf referred to the pair of Thin Bamboo and Big Retard. Thin Bamboo’s the Dwarf, Big Retard’s the Giant. It’s a combination of brain and brawn, and a pair the show views more positively. Though as the Giant has quite the unpredictable temper, and went berserk last episode, they’re put in the reserves seat by the show.

The leader clicks his tongue, remarking, “the Giant’s right leg was fractured in the last episode, and isn’t fixed yet.”

“Let’s see how he laughs this time!” The staff member fixes one of the displays to number 199.

“George, being a fan has its limits.”

“A fan? Of him?! The Impotent?!”

“Anti-fans are fans too.”

“ Blargh—— ”

Author’s notes:

The show: Going solo will not do, but in a team will you win.

Read only at Travis Translations