Cheng Shuili sometimes wondered why the system lacked a comprehensive moderation system, as images of such bloody violence should be strictly prohibited.
But soon, she realized that she was just daydreaming.
This world was just like that, and the system was merely showing them its most realistic side.
Even so, the designated player duel card in Cheng Shuili's possession had not been sold again.
While eating lunch, she took a moment to check the number of people on the regional channel.
There were still over four thousand people alive.
She thought about this number for a while. The last highway merge occurred after the extreme cold ended; at this rate, the second merge should happen once the next disaster concluded.
By then, she would have a place to put all these basic materials she had gathered.
The vehicle stopped once again. Su Rui stepped out of the driver's cab and asked as soon as she saw Cheng Shuili, "Shall we open a chest together? It's a silver one."
Oh?
Cheng Shuili raised an eyebrow; Su Rui's luck was decent. Back when she was driving, bronze chests were already a rare sight, and now Su Rui was even encountering silver ones.
Moreover, a silver chest was worth opening personally. She nodded and followed Su Rui out of the vehicle.
While it was said they were opening the chest together, in reality, she was just watching Su Rui do it.
It was a form of escorting her.
Cheng Shuili still cared quite a bit about her household's number one worker.
Su Rui was very self-aware; she gripped her dagger tightly, took a deep breath, stood before the silver chest, and lifted the lid.
A foul, putrid odor suddenly wafted out.
Almost instantly, Cheng Shuili realized something was wrong.
The person who had been relaxed moments ago immediately tightened her grip on her long blade and shouted a warning: "Back away!"
Su Rui had not yet managed to see what was inside the chest, but she followed Cheng Shuili's command instinctively and retreated a few steps.
The very second she backed away, a giant lizard lunged out from the chest, its scarlet tongue hissing as its sharp claws viciously raked the spot where Su Rui had been standing just a moment before!
Cheng Shuili did not rush forward rashly but silently recited "Insight" in her heart!
The Abyss Ring, having rested for quite a while, went back to work!
【Insight activated】
【Insight activated】
【Name: Venomous Throat-Slitting Lizard】
【Origin】: Formed from the fusion of a rotting corpse and a venomous lizard. Its tongue can whip out like a long lash, tipped with barbs. Once it pierces a victim's throat, it injects paralyzing venom, forcing the victim to watch helplessly as they are swallowed alive!
【Weakness】: Sever its tongue (it will suffer intense pain and lose its means of attack), or use fire (it fears heat, and its skin will crack upon contact with high temperatures). Finally, all monsters that use their tongues in this way have a common flaw: they can only see creatures that are moving! Hide yourself!
The tongue!
Cheng Shuili immediately whispered the weakness to Su Rui. Although Su Rui was puzzled as to how she knew this, she knew it was not the time to ask.
Everyone has their own secrets, let alone Cheng Shuili, who was ranked number one.
Sometimes, being too curious is not a good thing.
Su Rui followed Cheng Shuili's instructions and stood perfectly still.
The monster, which had been focused on them, anxiously shifted its gaze, its eyeballs rolling wildly in their sockets, clearly unable to find its target.
Cheng Shuili kept in mind that this thing could only see moving objects. Since that was the case, couldn't she just throw something to attract its attention?
A sneak attack was definitely much better than a head-on confrontation.
Cheng Shuili's mind stirred. She took an item from the Abyss Ring and gripped it in her palm. The next moment, she threw it with all her might!
"Whoosh!"
A sound of breaking air followed. The lizard monster's tongue shot out instantly, its tip acting like a sharp blade as it viciously pierced the object Cheng Shuili had thrown. It seemed to notice that the texture was off; its circular pupils narrowed into vertical slits as it bared its teeth and slowly retracted its tongue.
This should have been the perfect moment for an attack, but Cheng Shuili received a system pop-up notification instead.
【Congratulations on obtaining Super Useful Desiccant x1 (Fragile packaging, handle with care!) (The can takes no responsibility for lost items or any inconvenience caused to you!)】
Cheng Shuili: "??"
What did she just throw?
She carefully shifted her gaze and finally saw a piece of colorful ribbon on the ground, along with the can that had been pierced through.
A can.
Schrödinger's can!
So, where was the desiccant that had been inside?
Cheng Shuili blinked cautiously and observed closely, only then noticing that something seemed to be stuck to the lizard's tongue. It seemed extremely uncomfortable, repeatedly making swallowing motions.
The tongue was retracted into its mouth and then flicked out again; it was clearly in distress.
Cheng Shuili finally figured it out: the can had contained a packet of desiccant, and it was definitely not an ordinary one.
It was super useful!
Because the packaging was too fragile, it had been ruptured by the lizard's tongue the moment it was opened, which was why it had stuck to the lizard's tongue.
The lizard's normally agile, twisting long tongue became stiff in a very short time. Several crystalline particles were stuck to the barbs on the tip of its tongue—that was the desiccant from the can.
With its swallowing motions, those particles were expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye.
This scene was truly absurd, yet truly hilarious.
If she weren't currently unable to move, Cheng Shuili would have liked to sit down, eat some melon seeds, and watch it like a television show.
"Gurgle... roar!" The lizard suddenly let out a painful hiss, and several irregular lumps began to bulge under its dark green scales.
It thrashed its head wildly, its long tongue whipping against the ground, but this only caused more sand and soil to stick to the desiccant, which had already expanded into a sponge-like mass.
Su Rui noticed that the eyeballs the monster had turned toward her were now covered with a layer of white film.
"It can't see anymore!" She had just whispered this to Cheng Shuili when she saw a "pop" sound of bursting come from the lizard's abdomen.
Three sharp bone spurs pierced out from under its skin, the tips dripping with yellowish fat and mucus.
It sounded like the prelude to an explosion.
At this point, there was no time to worry about whether they could move; Cheng Shuili immediately grabbed Su Rui and retreated rapidly.
As if responding to her movements, the lizard's skin began to bubble like boiling asphalt.
Those desiccants, having absorbed enough moisture, formed bizarre crystals in its mouth. Its spine began to emit an ear-piercing "crunching" sound, followed by the vertebrae snapping one after another like a zipper coming undone.
And the tongue that had first come into contact with the substance, which had been full of elasticity, turned into a pale, plaster-like state. During its final spasm, it shattered into several pieces with a snap.
When the monster's head slammed heavily onto the ground, its entire body looked as if it had been kneaded by an invisible hand. All the moisture in its body seemed to have been sucked dry, leaving only a dried corpse on the highway, along with a few chunks of desiccant that clearly hadn't yet absorbed their fill of moisture.
This is a desiccant?
This is even more useful than a water pump!
Cheng Shuili stared blankly at the crystal on the ground that had expanded to double its size. If a person were to touch that, wouldn't they be sucked into a dried corpse instantly?
Rate on N.U.
