Survival in an apartment, starting with a stroke of luck on a plane

The so-called factory was actually a deliberately modified forest swamp.

Several makeshift shacks made of rotten wood and mud sat on the edge of the swamp, the air thick with the stench of decay and sulfur.

Lin Yu was greeted by a tall, humanoid creature covered in dark green scales with a lizard's head.

It stuck out its forked tongue, its cold, vertical pupils fixed on Lin Yu, making no attempt to hide the greed and hunger in its eyes, and foul-smelling saliva dripping from the corners of its mouth.

However, it seemed to be wary of Lin Yu's deliveryman vest and did not make a move immediately.

Lin Yu read out the order number without any expression.

The lizardman leader hissed a few times.

Soon, several much shorter lizardmen laboriously carried a huge wooden barrel, sealed with some kind of thick leather and vines, and placed it heavily in front of Lin Yu.

This is the takeout order for today – [Black Mud].

Lin Yu stepped forward, placed his hand on the wooden bucket, and a thought crossed his mind.

A delivery box flashed in the background, and the huge wooden barrel was instantly taken inside.

This delivery box is also a storage device, and it's the same type that can't be taken out of the game. Its advantage is obvious: it can put any item that is considered takeout, no matter how big, inside.

Of course, its disadvantages are also obvious: it cannot protect items, and the contents may be damaged in the event of a violent collision.

"Done." Lin Yu clapped his hands and turned to leave.

However, just as he stepped out of the shack area and was about to re-enter the forest—

rustling sounds!

Dozens of greedy, bloodthirsty yellow vertical pupils suddenly lit up from the shadows of the trees ahead!

Immediately afterwards, dozens of swamp lizardmen wielding rough bone clubs and stone axes emerged from behind the trees and from the mud. Their eyes gleamed with hunger and ferocity, and they hissed threateningly, forming a semi-circular encirclement that completely blocked Lin Yu's path.

Lin Yu stopped in his tracks, turned around slowly with a blank expression, and looked at the lizardman leader who was following behind him with a cunning and ferocious smile on his face.

The other person grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth, and said hoarsely, "Sorry, delivery guy... I can only guarantee that I won't lay a hand on you. As for these people who aren't employees of my factory... hehe, I can't help them."

Lin Yu's face betrayed no emotion; he simply said calmly, "It seems I'll have to suggest to the station that we cancel your factory's cooperative delivery qualification when I get back."

The lizardman leader paused for a moment, then hissed a few times and said, "Cancel? Hahaha! Provided... you still survive to submit the report! Hiss!"

Hearing this guy's words and his momentary hesitation, Lin Yu raised an eyebrow.

I never expected that delivery drivers would actually have this kind of authority; it's not mentioned in the manual.

This is useful information; it seems I can try it out when I get back.

"I see..." Lin Yu nodded, his tone remaining calm.

He carefully placed the delivery box on the clean ground behind him. With a thought, the twenty ghosts around him immediately tightened their defenses, protecting the delivery box layer by layer.

The "black sludge" inside must not be spilled; if it is spilled, you're guaranteed a bad review.

Then, he gripped the [Demon Sword] tightly with his right hand, and the dark red blade began to emit wisps of black ghostly energy; with his left hand, he drew the [Azure Rose], its cold muzzle aimed at the restless lizard horde ahead.

"So, now..."

"Game begins."

Facing dozens of roaring, charging swamp lizardmen, Lin Yu's eyes remained cold, showing no fear.

With his left hand, he fired the Azure Rose first! No need for aiming, the trigger was pulled repeatedly!

boom!boom!boom!boom!

Bullets imbued with demonic power whistled out, accurately hitting the first few lizardmen charging forward.

Their heads exploded like rotten watermelons, splattering dark green blood and brain matter everywhere. The headless corpses staggered a few steps before collapsing heavily to the ground.

At the same time, he swept out with his right hand, wielding the Demon Sword. The sharp blade trailed a chilling black ghostly aura, forming a crescent-shaped slash.

Sizzle—!

The three lizardmen who rushed to his side were sliced ​​in half at the waist like butter cut by a hot knife. Their upper bodies were still futilely swinging their weapons, but their lower bodies had already lost their support and collapsed, their internal organs and blood splattering all over the ground.

"Hiss!!"

The lizardmen were stunned by this sudden and violent counterattack, and their momentum stalled.

But Lin Yu's attack did not stop!

With a thought, the ghosts surrounding him, like hounds on a command, let out silent howls and pounced on the lizard horde!

Only a few ghosts remained to guard the delivery box.

The ghosts either penetrate the lizardmen's bodies, taking away their life force and body heat, or extend their ghostly claws to tear apart their scales and flesh, or possess them directly, plunging them into chaos and infighting.

The wailing of ghosts and the screams of lizardmen instantly mingled together.

Lin Yu himself was like a tiger among sheep. He moved nimbly through the lizardmen, using [Azure Rose] to snipe enemies in the distance who were trying to throw bone spears, and [Demon Sword] to slash at them in close combat. Every strike of his sword was sure to take a life.

At the same time, arcs of electricity leaped out from his body from time to time, electrocuting any lizardmen who got close, causing them to convulse and turn black.

This was a completely unequal massacre.

In just a minute or two, the dozens of lizardmen who had been so aggressive just moments before were all reduced to mangled, charred, and cold corpses on the ground.

The dark green blood had almost completely stained the soil, and a strong smell of blood and burnt flesh filled the air.

Lin Yu flicked away non-existent bloodstains from his sword and turned his cold gaze to the lizardman leader, whose smile had completely frozen.

He raised the Azure Rose, its black muzzle firmly aimed at the lizardman leader's scaly head.

"So, now..." Lin Yu's voice was eerily calm: "Do you think I can still go back and submit the report?"

The lizardman leader's tongue drooped limply as it swallowed hard, its cold, vertical pupils filled with terror.

It quickly licked its eyes, forced a smile that looked worse than a grimace, and said in a hoarse voice, "Delivery...delivery guy...I think...I think maybe we...can have a proper talk?"

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow, lowering the gun slightly: "What are we talking about?"

"Of course... of course it's my idiots who attacked you without permission... 'compensation'!" the lizardman leader hurriedly said, his tone becoming extremely "sincere".

Hearing the other party's unhesitating words about betraying their teammates, Lin Yu was slightly surprised and narrowed his eyes: "You're really not a good leader."

The lizardman leader chuckled dryly twice and shrugged: "That's how the world works, the strong prey on the weak, and there's nothing I can do about it... You have to think about yourself, don't you? You are strong, therefore you deserve my respect."

Lin Yu remained noncommittal and asked, "So how do you plan to compensate me in exchange for your life? After all, killing you doesn't seem difficult for me."

He deliberately emphasized the last sentence.

Hearing Lin Yu's blatant threat, the lizardman leader looked embarrassed, but he quickly shook his head and his tone became slightly obsequious: "Mr. Deliveryman, I think it would be the best option for you to spare my life."

After all, to be honest, you should understand that if you kill me directly, you won't get anything, but if you're willing to spare my life, I can help you get what you need.

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow and said, "What do I need?"

The lizardman leader nodded and quickly said, "Five-star review, I can help you get a five-star review. Besides, if you insist on killing me, I certainly won't let you off easy."

"For example?" Lin Yu asked, raising his head.

The lizardman leader lowered his voice, sounding somewhat mysterious: "Special takeout."

"What exactly is this special takeout?" Upon hearing this familiar term, Lin Yu continued to press for answers, seeing this as a good opportunity to gather information.

He still remembered the cold expression on the captain's face when he mentioned that word that morning.

The lizardman leader hesitated for a moment before saying, "Well... in principle, I can't tell you that."

But given the current situation, consider this information as part of my sincerity.

It paused, then continued, "The so-called 'special delivery' is to send delivery drivers who violate regulations to some extremely dangerous areas in the city, known as 'no-delivery zones,' to make delivery orders."

Those areas are inhabited by a large number of powerful and extremely brutal beings, and basically... none of the deliverymen who go there to deliver these orders come back alive.

The mortality rate...is over 90%.

Lin Yu nodded thoughtfully.

So that's how it is. This is the "punishment" that Captain Bull mentioned earlier. It seems that this is indeed a situation that needs to be avoided.

However, after thinking about it for a while, Lin Yu suddenly asked, "Since this so-called special delivery is so difficult, does that mean the reward is also pretty good?"

Upon hearing Lin Yu's question, the lizardman paused for a moment, then shook his head awkwardly and said, "I'm sorry, sir, I've never worked as a delivery driver, so I'm not really sure about this."

"Very well, I'll take this information." Hearing the other party's words, Lin Yu glanced at their expression again, his tone softening slightly, but the gun wasn't completely lowered: "So, how are you going to help me get a five-star review?"

Upon seeing this, the lizardman leader visibly breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly pulled out a dark, wriggling, muddy substance from a muddy jar behind him, which emitted a strong earthy smell and faint energy fluctuations, and carefully handed it to Lin Yu.

"This is... [Sludge Essence], a small token of my appreciation. Your current order's customer—that 'Sludge Monster' from the Swamp Park—should really like it."

If you hand it over to them, you'll most likely receive a five-star review, and might even get some decent rewards.

Lin Yu stared intently at the lump of silt.

【Sludge Essence】

Category: Materials

Rank: Bronze

Effect: A special material containing the essence of the earth and swamp, which can be used to make props, equipment, special building materials, or as food or offerings to certain special creatures.

Description: It smells like rotting soil, but some beings would go mad for it.

The item was indeed quite good, a pleasant surprise. Lin Yu used the tip of his sword to pick through the clump of mud essence and put it into his backpack.

He gave the lizardman leader a deep look, said nothing more, turned around, picked up the delivery box that was heavily protected by ghosts, and quickly left the swampy factory area that reeked of blood.

Watching Lin Yu's figure completely disappear into the forest, the lizardman leader finally relaxed completely. Its huge body almost collapsed to the ground. It touched its cold scales and found that its back was completely soaked with cold sweat.

It really didn't expect this human to be so strong. Even dozens of its subordinates couldn't handle him. It had really been fooled this time. If the other party didn't give up, it probably wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"Damn it... I really misjudged this time... Just who is this human? How can someone so strong be a deliveryman?!" It hissed in lingering fear, looking at the corpses of its people scattered on the ground, a hint of fear and relief flashing in its eyes.

……

Lin Yu successfully returned to the bushes where the electric car was hidden. His shadow clone nodded to him, indicating that everything was normal.

Lin Yu had his shadow clone put on a mask, get on the electric scooter, and sit on the back seat as they headed towards the delivery location, [Swamp Park].

On the way, he casually opened the game's built-in chat channel to check on other players.

The player survival count above the channel clearly shows: 92/100.

"Eight are already dead..." Lin Yu clicked his tongue twice.

Although it was expected, the fact that casualties occurred before the first day was even over still illustrates the level of danger in this world.

However, the number was slightly better than he had expected. Lin Yu had thought that many people would die on the first day, but now it seemed that he had underestimated the other players.

That's normal, considering this is his fourth time playing the game, and the players who are still alive must be quite strong.

He browsed the chat history. There weren't many people speaking; most were exchanging information about their respective regions.

"Don't go into the abandoned subway stations in the East Wing! They're full of vampire bats and some kind of giant worm!"

"Team up! Looking for guys with orders near the 'Bloody Arena'! Let's take orders together and act together."

"Beware of the owner of 'Smiling Candy House'! That old witch uses candy to cast spells!"

……

A few people also share important information for free, such as elite monsters roaming a certain area, or a customer with an extremely violent personality.

Lin Yu thought for a moment, then typed a message in the input box and sent it:

Players who receive orders from the "Sludge Factory" should be careful, as the factory owner is a lizardman who will send a large number of his minions to ambush and attack you when you leave to pick up the goods.

It is recommended to prepare for battle immediately after picking up the goods or to quickly disengage.

After the message was sent, several replies immediately popped up in the channel: 【Holy crap! Thanks for reminding me!】

[Awesome, boss!]

……

Lin Yu glanced at it and, after confirming that there was nothing of interest, closed the channel.

He shared the intelligence casually; in this cruel game, it's better to have a few more clear-headed fellow human beings than to die without knowing why, at least there'll be more "excitement" to watch.

……

Lin Yu's electric car quickly arrived at the [Swamp Park] area.

The environment here is much damper and muddier than the factory area, with huge, miasma-filled swamp pools everywhere.

Lin Yu parked the car in a relatively secluded area outside, leaving a shadow clone to guard it, while he carried the delivery box deep into the swamp.

Along the way, he even saw a giant, deformed crocodile, nearly seven meters long, with twisted bone spurs and pustules on its back, rolling around in the mud.

That guy exuded a rather fierce aura.

Lin Yu didn't want to cause any trouble. In this world, killing monsters didn't drop equipment, so it was best not to provoke them. Therefore, he avoided the other party.

Soon, following the navigation prompts, he arrived at a particularly large black mud pit that seemed to be boiling and bubbling.

Lin Yu stopped and called out loudly, "Mr. Mud Monster! Your takeout is here!"

The sound echoed through the empty swamp.

The mud pit remained unresponsive.

Lin Yu waited for more than ten seconds, thinking that the other person was not at home or was asleep.

Just as he was considering whether to call out again or use another method to "wake" the other person up—

Glug glug... Glug glug...

The entire massive swamp began to writhe and bulge violently.

Large amounts of silt, humus, and water were pushed aside, and an enormous figure slowly rose from the center of the mud pit.

It was a giant made entirely of black silt, nearly five meters tall, and as large as a small house.

Its "eyes" are just two huge pits constantly flowing with mud, making it look dull and clumsy overall.

It seemed to take a while before it focused on Lin Yu, this "little guy".

A few seconds later, an extremely slow, sluggish voice rang out, each word drawn out: "Where's my takeout?"

Its voice was dull, somewhat like the sloth Flash from a classic animated film in Lin Yu's previous life. Like Flash, it probably had a very slow neural reaction speed.

However, Lin Yu was not in a hurry, since there was still plenty of time for delivery. He took the sealed wooden barrel out of the delivery box.

Upon seeing the sealed black sludge, the mud monster quickened its pace considerably and slowly approached Lin Yu.

Because the other party was so large, the mud it stirred up when it got close almost splashed onto Lin Yu, forcing him to take a few steps back.

The mud monster slowly and deliberately stretched out its huge arm made of mud, grabbed the wooden bucket that looked like a toy to it, and then... stuffed it directly into its body, merging with it.

After several seconds, it slowly commented: "Hmm—Sealed—perfect—taste—perfect—"

Lin Yu nodded: "Please give me a five-star review."

The mud monster's enormous head seemed to nod, then paused, as if pondering a philosophical question.

Several seconds later, it slowly spoke again: "I—felt—a—familiar—aura—on—you—".

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow, immediately thinking of that mass of [Sludge Essence].

He took it out of his backpack: "Is this it?"

The mud monster's two huge mud pits, its "eyes," stared intently at the clump of essence in Lin Yu's hand, its entire massive body seemingly frozen in place.

After a long pause, it nodded very slowly: "Give—it—to—me—I—give—you—this—in exchange—"

After saying that, it opened its huge mouth again, and after a wriggling motion, it spat out a rolled-up drawing that seemed to be made of some kind of waterproof leather, which flew precisely into Lin Yu's hand.

Lin Yu caught it and took a look:

[Blueprint for a Silt Trap]

Category: Apartment Facility Blueprint

Rank: Bronze

Effect: After learning this skill, you can place a ring of [Sludge Traps] around the perimeter of your player apartment. Creatures attempting to attack the apartment will fall into the trap, their movement speed will be greatly reduced, and they will suffer continuous minor poison damage.

Description: Let the uninvited guest take a mud bath first.

"Apartment defense facilities?" Lin Yu's eyes lit up.

This is indeed something he needs right now. He had asked to buy it in the neighborhood chat group before, but hadn't received anything suitable.

I never expected to get something here in this way.

"Deal!" Lin Yu put away the blueprint with satisfaction, then threw the ball of [Sludge Essence] at the Sludge Monster.

The mud monster precisely caught the essence and then stuffed it into its body as well.

Lin Yu added, "Remember to give me a five-star review."

The mud monster seemed to be immersed in the satisfaction of obtaining the essence, and slowly nodded.

Almost the instant it nodded, Lin Yu's phone vibrated.

[Order completed!]

[Rating: Five stars!]

[Basic delivery points +25]

[5-star review reward: Double your points!]

[Points earned: 50!]

[Current total points: 90 points!]

"Beautiful!" Lin Yu was overjoyed.

I successfully obtained the points and even got a useful blueprint for free.

Meanwhile, this time he received 25 basic delivery points, 5 more than the previous order. Lin Yu believes this may be due to the increased delivery distance.

In a good mood, Lin Yu turned and left, retracing his steps.

However, just as he reached the edge of the swamp and was about to see his electric scooter, a violent commotion and terrified cries for help suddenly came from the depths of the swamp to his side.

"Run! That guy's catching up!"

"Damn it! Its skin is too thick!"

Lin Yu frowned and looked over, only to see a male and female player rushing out of a reed bed in a panic, running desperately toward the edge of the swamp.

They were injured and looked extremely frightened.

Behind them, amidst raging mud and water, lay the enormous, deformed crocodile that Lin Yu had seen earlier.

It was clearly enraged, and pursued the enemy with a speed disproportionate to its size, its gaping maw emitting a deep roar, crushing swamp vegetation in its wake.

When the two players saw Lin Yu standing in front, a hint of surprise flashed in their eyes. Then, a fierce and calculating look suddenly flashed in the eyes of the female player who was running slightly behind!

Without hesitation, she raised her hand, and a small but gleaming crossbow bolt instantly appeared in her hand. She aimed it at Lin Yu's calf and pulled the trigger sharply.