Survival Deadline

The First Card

2

With the door open, the salty sea breeze bit into her lungs, bitter and astringent.

Manda sat quietly at the table for a while before the outside noise picked up again.

The innate human instinct to gather was fully displayed.

As the saying goes, three cobblers surpass Zhuge Liang.

Just as Manda thought to step outside to eavesdrop, a brilliant light flashed before her eyes. After a moment of blindness, she slowly reopened her eyes.

A crystal-clear card floated in mid-air, shimmering softly.

Manda reached out, and the card fell into her hand without resistance, the light dissipating to reveal intricate patterns on the back. Turning it over, she saw a neat row of small text.

—100 meters forward from room 1098.

Room 1098 was on the beach, and 100 meters forward would be... in the sea.

What nonsense.

Manda casually tossed the card aside as exclamations rose outside.

"Oh my God, ten kilograms of dry bread!"

"Hey, hey, my card is for a liter of strawberry jam."

"Two bottles of wine..."

"What's this, a single harpoon??"

Quietly picking the card back up, Manda reread the information and decided to take a swim in the sea.

As soon as she stepped out, her neighbor struck up a conversation, a middle-aged man in his forties with a buzz cut, square face, and thick black eyebrows, exuding integrity.

"Little girl, how old are you? Don't be scared, if you need help, come to me!" The middle-aged man, Yuan Fang, patted his chest, "I was a people's police officer."

He appeared utterly righteous, even his wide smile reassuring.

Manda nodded, "Hello, I'm Manda."

Yuan Fang laughed heartily, getting straight to the point, "Young lady, did you get a card? What did you get? Mine was for ten kilograms of noodles."

Manda appreciated his direct questioning, even though he always asked two at once, but each time, he shared his situation first, offering a sense of security.

"I have a card, but it only contains information. Maybe I'll find out what it is when I reach the destination," Manda, clutching the card, headed down, "Goodbye."

Yuan Fang scratched his head, sensing an unstoppable momentum from her.

"Hey, wait, I'll come with you!"

Manda didn't refuse; she just kept walking, her skirt fluttering, not slowing down.

After a ten-minute walk to the beach, she quickly found room 1098. She positioned herself correctly.

Just 100 meters to go.

Suddenly, a strong pat on her back caused her to fall forward.

The man standing three meters away with an outstretched hand, Yuan Fang, and another man holding a doorknob, were speechless.

Manda felt pain in her arms and knees as she struggled to stand, turning to the "culprit" who raised his hands, his playful eyes twinkling: "It was the door."

"Oh."

Manda measured the distance to the door, dusted off her dress, and headed straight for the sea, counting her steps.

The man still holding the doorknob raised an eyebrow, while Yuan Fang sighed.

The water reached her waist, her hair soaking up a good length.

The playful-eyed man watched with interest as she ventured deeper, asking another observer, "Brother, what's she doing?"

Yuan Fang watched anxiously, "She said she's heading to the destination on her card... Oh no, I can't swim, little brother, can you?"

"I can," the man smiled, his eyes blooming like peach blossoms, making Yuan Fang pause at his too-thin appearance.

"But I hate getting my clothes wet."

Yuan Fang's mouth twitched at the consistent shallowness.

In their conversation, Yuan Fang noticed Manda had disappeared, panicking and rushing into the sea, shouting, "Young lady! Young lady—"

Heading to the card's destination... The playful-eyed man snapped his fingers unnoticed, contemplating the message card.

A minute later, Manda emerged from the water, dragging the struggling, non-swimming people's police officer towards shallower waters.

Fortunately, the water wasn't too deep, and they were close to the shore. Once Yuan Fang found his footing, Manda was exhausted.

After standing, she caught her breath, nearly sacrificing herself for a heroic act.

Yuan Fang, still energetic, asked, "Are you okay?"

After a moment, Manda looked at him expressionlessly, "I'm fine. Just stay here, don't move."

Yuan Fang: "I'm sorry for the trouble."

Manda dived back

in, swiftly swimming towards her destination. She was just a few meters away and had already spotted the target.

The playful-eyed man on the shore watched with interest, surprised at her strength despite her delicate appearance.

In seconds, Manda reemerged in deeper waters, one hand paddling slowly, the other seemingly dragging something.

"Help me pull this."

After wiping her face, Yuan Fang eagerly helped, pulling faster than Manda could. The object was soon out of the water, eventually resting on the beach.

Unable to pull it further due to its weight, what was hidden in the sea surfaced, and the playful-eyed man, comparing it to his compressed biscuits, lost his smile.

"Ah, all seafood, alive and kicking!"

Various large fish averaging around five kilograms, thick shrimp, and palm-sized crabs...

Yuan Fang estimated the haul at two to three hundred pounds, a luxurious catch compared to others' ten to twenty pounds.

The spectacle attracted onlookers, envy and jealousy evident.

"God, it's like cheating."

"Not convenient, all raw."

"There's even salmon! Great for sashimi!"

"Sizzle—"

As the fresh seafood was surrounded, Yuan Fang anxiously checked Manda's reaction, only to see her sneeze, then wring out her hair and adjust her soaked dress.

The feeling of being drenched was terrible.

Manda worried about falling ill in this desolate place and dying without medicine.

Yuan Fang: "..."

At least the sun was out, not too cold. After tidying up, Manda finally turned her attention to her bounty, feeling somewhat unfortunate. Seafood was nice, but without a kitchen, it was a hassle.

Manda's gaze first fell on Yuan Fang, then drifted, finally settling on the man who had knocked her over with the door.

This man...

A pale hand extended, the man's attractive eyes lifted, emitting a monosyllabic, "Hmm?"

Manda's hand swept from in front of him to the fishing net: "I'll give you half in exchange for making them edible."

Straight to offering half.

Decisive.

The playful-eyed man considered the taste of compressed biscuits and readily agreed: "Deal."

Yuan Fang frowned, whispering to Manda as soon as the playful-eyed man left: "Isn't that too much?"

Manda shook her head: "Not too much. In a world without currency, barter is the way. How much of that half he can keep depends on his ability." She paused, adding, "Honest people can't maximize benefits, so I couldn't ask for your help. But I'll still share part of my half with you."

Yuan Fang felt conflicted, shaking his head, "I haven't helped, how could I take your things? No, no."

"But I want to eat your noodles."

Yuan Fang: "...Okay." Embarrassed by his presumptuousness.

The crowd lingered, some intimidated by the sharp-eyed man's astuteness, opting to deal with a seemingly gentle girl instead.

"Can I trade a kilogram of bread for a fish?"

Yuan Fang glared: "That fish is at least ten pounds, isn't that a bit unfair to the girl?"

The man argued: "But that's raw material! And hard to preserve, unlike bread that fills you up! And who are you to rush? The owner hasn't spoken yet."

Manda glanced at him: "I'm not trading my half."

Her fish and Yuan Fang's ten kilograms of noodles would make the ten days quite luxurious.

"But think about it, eating fish all the time gets tiring, and do you eat fish for breakfast too?"

"I don't eat breakfast."

"..." The man was speechless, unable to argue further. What could he do in front of everyone? Forcefully take it? But his three kilograms of bread weren't enough for ten days!

"You can trade with me." The playful-eyed man suddenly invited him over.

The man was thrilled: "You're willing to trade with me?!"

The playful-eyed man nodded but waved a finger: "Not one, but half."

"Half is too little..."

"I'll trade with you!" A woman in her thirties raised her hand, "I have a kilogram of bread, I'll trade with you."

"Trade with me, I only want the top third of the fish!" Another person stepped forward.

Word spread, and more people gathered on the beach, surrounding the two owners and their catch. The playful-eyed man busily made trades, while Manda remained indifferent, rejecting all offers with "not trading."

Yuan Fang silently counted the items the playful-eyed man traded for, realizing Manda's decision to give away half was a loss.

"Young lady, you gave him too much. He hardly spent anything to get oil, salt, fire, even other grains and vegetables..."

Manda shook her head: "That's his ability."

She made this choice partly because it was troublesome and partly because she knew her limits. If she had made the trades herself, she wouldn't have been as smooth as that man, potentially ending up worse off.

The trading continued until evening, and by the time the crowd dispersed, the playful-eyed man's half was down to two fish, but he had amassed a pile of goods over a meter high.

"What a pleasant transaction."

The playful-eyed man stretched, watching the sunset on the horizon, then snapped his fingers: "Now, it's time for dinner."

Manda, who had been sitting on the beach, stood up, her clothes and hair almost dry, facing the afterglow.

"I want boiled fish."

The playful-eyed man paused, smiling at her: "Would you like to order anything else, miss?"

Manda's gaze returned from the distance, looking at him seriously: "If possible."

The playful-eyed man raised an eyebrow, his face sarcastic: "Not possible."

Manda lowered her head, disappointed.

This was a world without warmth.