Chapter Fifty-Four: A Meaningful Holiday

Bruce was also stunned. Generally speaking, in the final circle, everyone desperately tries to conceal themselves, and the stealthier the tactics, the more likely they are to bring victory.

At least he and Longsheng had always adopted such tactics.

Moreover, the hit rate of running people over with a car is not very high; once it fails, the entire team is done for.

Normally that would be the case, but Shakuya's next maneuver made Longsheng cry out in admiration.

A car drove straight toward the two engaged parties. An ordinary person's reaction would definitely be to back away, and Shakuya took advantage of this exact reaction.

Her goal was not to run over all the enemy players, but to target one of the sides, anticipating where they would retreat.

Prior to this, one player from the other group had already been killed, and Shakuya was aiming at the side with two members remaining.

The team that had just killed one person hadn't even had time to enjoy the joy of victory when they were sent flying by the impact!

"Awesome!"

Longsheng and Bruce both cheered.

"Get out of the car!"

At Shakuya's command, Longsheng jumped out of the car with her.

There was still one enemy player left, and victory was right before their eyes!

In this game, even having one more person than the opponent is a guarantee of victory.

The two used the vehicle as cover, flanking left and right toward the remaining enemy player.

"We're going to win this chicken dinner!"

Longsheng's weapon was of high quality with plenty of ammunition, and Shakuya also carried a large amount of medical supplies, along with submachine guns and rifles that had the advantage at medium and close range. This victory was practically in the bag!

"Boom!!"

With a loud bang, the screen turned black and white.

The words "Try Harder Next Time" appeared on the screen.

"Eh?"

Shakuya realized that she and Longsheng had suddenly been wiped out.

"What the hell! What just happened?!"

Longsheng also stood up in frustration, holding his head and shouting.

"Let's check the death replay?"

Bruce operated the computer Shakuya had been using a few times.

It turned out that when Shakuya ran over the opposing team, the remaining player had tossed a grenade right where the car came to a stop.

"This guy is a pro driver..."

Bruce patted both of their shoulders and comforted them.

"Well... this game is just like that. The battlefield changes in the blink of an eye."

"Hey, if anything, Qinyun, your performance far exceeded our expectations."

Longsheng didn't feel discouraged at all; he picked up the cola Bruce had left on the table and took a drink.

"Wait, why does that person's account look a bit familiar?"

Bruce was pondering when suddenly a party join request popped up on the game's main interface.

The applicant was none other than the champion from just now.

Shakuya was surprised, but by then Longsheng had already clicked to allow the other party into the party.

"Yo, you guys are playing too? That was just me having good luck, sorry about that!"

A familiar girl's voice rang out in the voice channel.

"I knew it, it really was you!"

It seemed Longsheng had figured out who the person was.

"Li Jiayi, long time no see! I didn't expect you to log on today!"

Could the player who had just thrown that grenade actually be Li Jiayi?!

Bruce also came over to greet Li Jiayi, explaining that Qinyun had been the one playing on his account just now.

Considering that Li Jiayi was not yet aware of Shakuya's situation, the three of them kept their stories straight and continued to refer to Shakuya as Qinyun.

"Oh ho ho? The three of you are playing together at an internet cafe? Count me in! That way our squad of four is full."

Li Jiayi was very happy as well.

"L-Li Jiayi! Have you been doing well lately?!"

Shakuya had been very depressed lately and hadn't contacted anyone. Hearing Li Jiayi's voice now made her realize she had kept her phone turned off for almost a week.

"Oh dear, I'm doing fine. Knowing that the three of you are safe and sound gives me peace of mind. After all, such a massive casualty event happened this time."

When playing games, Li Jiayi's personality transformed from her usual introverted self, becoming talkative and confident.

"Uh... y-yes... as long as you and Longsheng are safe..."

Mentioning the incident where thousands of people died still left a knot in Shakuya's heart. She felt awkward and began to stammer.

Longsheng noticed the atmosphere was a bit awkward, but Li Jiayi certainly wouldn't realize it.

He decided to jump into the conversation promptly, turning on his open mic and saying, "Hey, Jiayi, how has it been on your end since then? Was the journey all smooth?"

"Mm, the journey was smooth. We arrived at the South City District shelter, and now we've been assigned to live in nearby vacant housing."

Li Jiayi briefly reported on her situation as well, and it seemed the topic had been smoothly shifted by Longsheng.

Shakuya and Longsheng exchanged a glance, and then she let out a sigh of relief, leaning back into her chair.

"Speaking of which, how are things over at your place, Longsheng? I heard the East City District was destroyed... My dad and I were both quite worried about you... Besides, you guys haven't been in touch for so long..."

"Hey, Jiayi, the cables and stuff outside got caught in the crossfire of the battle, and everything that could break broke. The relevant departments have been rushing to repair them during this time."

Bruce came over to explain. Because he had been hospitalized for the past few days and dealing with Schivarge matters alongside Longsheng, he had to use a different excuse for Li Jiayi.

"Longsheng is staying at my place right now, and the power supply on our side only returned to normal these past few days."

"Oh? He didn't go to the assigned vacant housing? It must be nice having a wealthy friend."

Li Jiayi let out an envious sigh.

"If you like, you can come live here too."

Bruce continued with his teasing remarks.

Shakuya simply nudged Bruce to take the seat.

"Are you pushing me over? I'm a disabled person..."

"Ah, sorry, sorry..."

Bruce smiled apologetically.

"Of course, getting together for drinks in the evening is totally fine, provided it's somewhere near my current residence."

Li Jiayi hadn't seen everyone in a long time, and this suggestion met with everyone's approval.

It was rare for everyone to have free time these days, and Shakuya was on leave as well.

Since they were going to play, they might as well go all out.

Taking a break from saving the world to fully enjoy some leisure time—perhaps that was why the director had given Shakuya time off this time.

Next, Li Jiayi would send her current address to everyone, and Bruce would figure out the specifics of where nearby to go and what to do.

As for Shakuya, she got ready to go make lunch.

If she hung out with the two boys in a room piled up with their living trash for too much longer and delayed her actual purpose for coming here, that wouldn't be good.

"You guys can play one more match, and I should be about done making lunch."

Shakuya waved at the two of them, signaling that they didn't need to follow her down to the kitchen on the lower floor.

"This... how could we? At least let us help out."

Longsheng felt it wasn't right to leave all the chores to Shakuya, who was only just slowly emerging from her lowest point, but his good intentions were refused by Shakuya.

"No need. This time I'm here to apologize, so let me properly complete the apology process."

Shakuya had already tied her apron, ready to tackle the task earnestly.

Bruce patted Longsheng's shoulder.

"Just let her do it. I understand how she feels."

Shakuya nodded at Bruce. She felt that her own stubborn streak of seriousness sometimes really resembled Bruce's.

This time, Shakuya was going to put into practice the Ripple Cooking technique personally taught by Master Jingci!

Although she didn't know what its exact effects were, after eating it, Shakuya had felt all the fatigue in her body sweep away. Surely whatever she ate must have been pure energy.

Vacations are truly wonderful.

Especially vacations spent with friends.

It seemed that people like Shion and the others who fought on the front lines of Schivarge rarely got to take such vacations, and that included Longsheng's and Bruce's parents. They really had it hard.

There were still three days left of her week-long vacation. Shakuya had already wasted the first few days, so she wanted to make meaningful use of the remaining time.

Thinking this, Shakuya picked up the ingredients and walked into the kitchen.