Shut Up – This Is a Serious Game

Chapter 7: Hunting

Frost River gave the players a half-hour of free activity time, during which everyone completed the initial face-sculpting and ID naming.

Actually, they could use their real names directly, but considering the possibility that they may intersect in reality, in order to avoid being opened, Chen Jiu decided to still allow players to hide their identities to the maximum extent when designing.

After everything was completed, the player information on the interface also changed.

Qin chuan still called himself Qin chuan, he was not embarrassed at all and was even too lazy to sculpt his face.

The man's ID was changed to "Worm", exposing his XP very clearly.

More outrageous was that he even sculpted himself into a monster.

At first glance, he was really feared to have the whole Rocket Launcher of Ludacris...

Chen Jiu had reason to believe that if the costume could not be changed temporarily, they would have already put on black stockings and dresses.

On the other hand, the girl was much more normal, with her ID and facial features being as expected.

Her name was not Gui, but a Wig.

Alright, let's just call it Wig then.

And Chen Jiu used his real name for his ID but changed his facial features to something else.

Once everything was ready, Chidi issued the pre-task of "obtaining weapons" according to the plan. Finally, the players rushed away in a cloud of smoke and retrieved the anti-curve bow and standard gun that Chidi had prepared in advance from the unlocked warehouse.

Although there is actually stronger firepower within the research institute, considering the level of the research institute, the security measures are also in place. However, Chen Jiu's current authority is not enough to use it, so the only weapons available are the exercise equipment in the gym.

Frost River's logic is simple. Before Chen Jiu's plan yields the expected return, it cannot recklessly consume non-renewable resources and equipment. However, it doesn't matter, even with just these two things, going out to hunt is already enough. After all, according to what he had seen before, even in Xiahe Village, the weapons used by the villagers were mostly crudely made axes and a few iron swords.

On the other hand, to Chen Jiū's surprise, Qin Chuan, although performing abnormally, was actually very proactive in the task, probably because he found no bugs to stall him and was ready to quickly finish the tutorial.

"Damn, this bow... is too ordinary," said Worm.

"I thought they were going to give us laser guns," said another.

Hearing their complaints, Chen Jiū thought to himself, You think I don't want to give you better weapons? If you don't hurry up and work, where am I supposed to get weapons for you?

"Just giving us this to go hunting? Come on, does anyone here know how to use a bow?"

"I know a little bit!" Qin Chuan answered.

Wow, you're so talented. But the next second, Qin Chuan continued, "It's okay if you don't know how to use it, just charge forward with the spear, and I'll support you from behind!" He was treating himself as a shooter... But you're thinking big! Will I let you get away with it? What did you think I joined the players for? It's to push you to improve!

After confirming that everyone had been given their weapons, Frost River led the group out of the shelter along the passage, introducing them as they walked: 

"This shelter was formerly the Disaster Preparedness Center of the Chinese Advanced Technology Research Institute, and its main purpose was to preserve the most advanced technological documents at the time, including many that had the potential to completely end the apocalypse."

"Unfortunately, after the apocalypse, the infrastructure was not capable of putting these technological documents into practice, and the survivors' civilization had regressed to the Middle Ages. Across the entire world, we could not even find a survivor who could make a steam engine."

"So our goal is to gradually restore the infrastructure and then use that infrastructure to manufacture the advanced technology stored in the institute until we can use these technologies."

"Does this institute have any security measures?"

Before Frost River could finish, Qin Chuan interrupted again.

There are security measures in place, but at present, you cannot use any proactive or lethal weapons within the research institute. Additionally, if you are thinking of bringing enemies here and taking advantage of the protection mechanisms of the shelter, I advise you to abandon this idea. Exposing the shelter's whereabouts is prohibited, and if I find that you have that tendency, I will immediately expel you.

Qin Chuan smiled awkwardly; he actually did intend to use this trick to kill a large group of people. But never mind; this path doesn't work; there are still other paths to take.

Isn't it just about finding food?

This task of hunting down three hanging-eared rabbits is obviously not challenging nor fun, so how could I possibly take it seriously? Either I should hunt down something bigger or... try to find some bugs! After all, I'm obviously a bug tester, and if I don't use my specialty, wouldn't it be a waste? Not only would I not be enjoying myself, but the game designer wouldn't be happy either. But I have to think of what kind of bugs I can find in this task...

As Chen Jiu watched Qin Chuan's eyes rolling around, he knew that this guy wasn't serious about following the task and was already full of bad ideas. He had to think of a way to settle him down, or else the players would all be messed up. Who would do the work then?

......

Soon, Frost River and the four players passed through the last section of the cave, and after saying goodbye, its figure gradually dissipated.

Chen Jiu stepped forward and pushed the disguise at the exit, and strong sunlight shone into the cave.

He poked his head out to observe the surrounding environment, and, after confirming there was no danger, he called the others to come out of the cave.

Even though they had psychological preparation, the sight before them still left the three players, who had seen the outside world for the first time, speechless.

It was a forest covered in snow.

Unlike the jungle they knew, this one also had the faint traces of a vast structure. The cement and wood had all rotted away, but the metal frame sticking out of the ground like giant vines winding around ancient trees was the only remnant of the old days. In the distance, through the gaps in the jungle, they could see a glimmer of water, and when they reached the high ground, they discovered a huge, perfectly round lake. At the same time, all their interfaces had updated with several landmark information.

【Wankou Forest: The ruins of a mountain city and also the location of the Three Chi Research Institute's Disaster Prevention Center. The decaying building materials here have left countless traps, and if someone is not careful, they could fall into one and be beyond redemption. Almost no one would come here to hunt, so the wildlife resources here are very abundant.】

【Dangyang Lake: The ruins of the end of the world, formed by the meteorite crater caused by the crash of a Phoenix-class sky mothership. The huge impact destroyed the whole suburb, taking away thousands of lives, but now it has provided sustenance for generations of survivors.】

【Xiahe Village: A small settlement located near Dangyang Lake. This settlement is isolated from the world and is the location of the Hyper Space Radar, but unfortunately the radar has been disconnected from the institute.】

Chen Jiu wasn't awestruck by the basin below when he looked down from a high place, but the player beside him was already stunned. "Damn, this map is awesome... The water surface, the vegetation... When did light chasing reach this level?" Qin Chuan murmured.

This was the first time he felt that the game had surpassed his expectations—even the completely realistic perception he experienced before had not brought him such a great shock.

Before he finished marveling, a fat and stout wild boar in pitch black came leisurely walking from the distance in the snowfield. A sense of danger rose in his heart, and he instinctively clenched his rifle.

You should know that the most dangerous animal in the forest is not necessarily a wolf, tiger, or leopard. It's the wild boar, with strong territorial awareness and a strong desire to attack! This thing is not so easy to kill... He was trying to figure out a way to skip class, looking at the thick and fat wild boar, not knowing if it was a weak flame or a weak chrysanthemum. Chen Jiu's heart was equally nervous.

In the preceding five days, he had tried solo hunting and even been killed by a wild boar once, so he knew better than Qin Chuan how difficult it was to deal with such a huge creature on the snowfield.

I really don't know if it's good luck or bad luck.

Just when he was about to call the others to go around it, Qin Chuan had already drawn his bow beside him.

"Never mind, let me try with an arrow!"

"Swoosh----"

The sound of the arrow piercing through the air as it flew straight into the wild boar's hind leg.

"Damn, it's off target!"

"Roar----"

The wailing echoed through the forest, and sure enough, a wild boar was rushing towards them. Without hesitation, Chen Jiu immediately issued a temporary mission with GM authority!

【Kill the Injured Wild Boar】

Seeing the notification, Qin Chuan's heart stirred and he rushed forward without hesitation. First kill! First kill!

Behind him, Jiafa and Worm also rushed forward, seemingly unaware of the danger.

Qin Chuan, who was originally supposed to stay in the rear and provide support, no longer held back and charged forward. The lame wild boar was soon hit by him head-on, and he held his breath and shot out a gun.

The carefully polished spear deeply pierced into the wild boar's body. Qin Chuan felt a warmth on his face as fresh blood splattered. In that moment, the perfect sense of immersion that no other game could provide completely bursted out. The wildness hidden in his heart surpassed his rationality as a speed gamer. This feeling of blood boiling excitement... no matter how many battles he plays, he could never experience it! Is this the correct way to start this game? The injured wild boar was still struggling, but the other two had already surrounded it, attacking it chaotically and sending the wild boar panicking and running around.

Seeing it about to escape the encirclement, Chen Jiu, who was observing from the side, took a leap towards it and waved his spear, driving it back.

The wild boar then charged straight towards Qin Chuan without him dodging, and he used his body to take the full force of the impact.

The pain disappeared in a flash, followed by a pleasant sensation of pure power colliding.

He grabbed the boar’s ear with one hand and half a spear with the other.

Before long, the wild boar was lying on the ground.

The first kill!

A message popped up on Qin Chuan’s player interface.

He felt an unprecedented and overwhelming sense of accomplishment at that moment. He felt like he wasn't in a game anymore, but he had actually killed a wild boar. At the same time, another thought suddenly popped into his head: "Give me more wild boars! I want to kill boars! I want to kill boars!" He had completed his first mission of killing a wild boar and was rewarded with the title of Wild Boar Hunter.