Chapter 26

In Chu Ci's speculation, the food reserves on the isolated island would not be too abundant; otherwise, it would reduce the aggressiveness of the participants. It was now the third day, and excluding some powerful groups (such as certain reincarnators), most people should be in a state of hunger and starvation, just like Cheng Rui was yesterday.

Participants in this stage are the most dangerous, but also the safest.

Hungry participants would attack others with red eyes, but at the same time, Chu Ci, facing participants with drastically reduced physical strength, would have an advantage in physical ability. He wouldn't fear close combat, and without close combat, who could match the weapons in Chu Ci's hands?

During the parachute jump, Chu Ci did not overly focus on Bond's position, but based on the several pre-reincarnation combat plans they had discussed, Bond, who had not been noticed by other reincarnators, should now be mixed in a group. Using his intelligence and strength, he would gradually seize control of the team, then expand the team, maintaining a balance of being both overt and covert compared to Chu Ci.

In fact, Bond far exceeded Chu Ci's expectations. While Chu Ci displayed the typical indecisiveness of a lazy man, spending three days loitering around the lake area and even flirting with a little girl, Bond had already organized a quite united team of seven men and five women, all physically fit adults. Using his wilderness experience, he found the forest dwellings on the isolated island and discovered a significant amount of food and two hunting rifles, thus establishing a certain level of prestige.

Even more impressively, Bond chatted amicably with the reincarnators.

"Hao Jun, how is the food?" Bond paid equal attention to everyone, speaking interestingly without neglecting anyone, truly a diplomatic genius. He was now concerned about one of them. "Sorry, all the bullets have to be saved for the enemy, so we can't hunt for food."

The organizer's distribution of participants on the isolated island was quite even, with various races represented. Therefore, Hao Jun, being the only Asian in a predominantly white team, faced racial discrimination. Only Bond, recognizing Hao Jun's status as a reincarnator, strongly recommended that the team accommodate him.

Hao Jun was very grateful and explained nonchalantly that having something to eat was already good. During the parachute jump, he was so scared that he threw away his backpack, so he hadn't eaten a grain of rice for a whole day before Bond found him.

"That's good. I didn't expect to find cornmeal on this small island. If properly stored, it can last for a while." Bond clapped his hands to attract the attention of others. "Everyone needs to work harder. Don't slack off just because we have food. We need to take the initiative and obtain more food from other places."

Most of the people present, except Hao Jun, had blood on their hands and naturally agreed with Bond's suggestion, looking to the long term.

"The organizer said there is a military factory on the island," Bond mentioned an enticing target to boost the morale of the remaining participants. "If we can seize the military factory, we might be able to equip ourselves with sufficient firepower. Although we don't want to kill, we certainly don't want to be killed."

"Think of your families and yourselves. We are not enthusiastic about killing; we are just puppets manipulated by those in power, struggling to survive."

Bond spoke with emotion, using a few words to completely absolve their actions, significantly reducing the guilt of his teammates. This way, he not only eliminated their hesitation in killing but also tightly united the team.

Others raised their weapons out of selfishness, but Bond claimed he was protecting his family, using a conceptual shift to distinguish his team from other participants, preventing the emergence of traitors and spies.

As for Hao Jun... Bond secretly observed him a few times and decided to use him as a scapegoat, dealing with him at the last moment.

On the third day of the competition, the capable began to consider how to obtain loot, while the less capable could be ignored, as they were just moving prey. Therefore, including Bond, the more capable teams or individuals on the isolated island set their sights on the military factory.

To control the hot weapons is to control violence!

This is the iron rule of the game!

So, except for Chu Ci, who was an unrestricted human ammunition depot, even some veteran reincarnators began searching for the location of the military factory.

But the current situation was... huh? Has no one found this place?

At 11:00 AM, Chu Ci, wandering aimlessly, discovered an abandoned building. Looking at the cracked cement ground and the rows of three-story buildings a hundred meters away, Chu Ci quickly took out a few grenades for self-defense and pulled Cheng Rui back into the forest.

Taking out a telescope, he checked the entrances and exits of the buildings one by one, finding no new traces. However, this didn't mean anything; such a good base couldn't be unoccupied.

Chu Ci circled the building for a full inspection, thoroughly confirming that the dust on all the windows and doors had not been disturbed. Only then did he take Cheng Rui onto the cement ground and walk toward the buildings.

"Uncle, what is this place?" Cheng Rui, like a curious child, looked around.

"This should be... a shooting range," Chu Ci observed the marks on the ground, clearly hit by bullets, but the metal bullet heads had been removed.

If so, there should be hot weapons here!

Chu Ci's heart raced. He wasn't too eager for the possible guns, but the other participants were. If Chu Ci could find a couple more guns, he might not need them, but it would mean a couple fewer guns that could potentially kill him. After all, Chu Ci was just an ordinary person and could die from a critical hit.

While explaining, Chu Ci searched for possible hiding spots for enemies and suitable places to set traps.

"Guns?" Cheng Rui glanced at the M4A1 on Chu Ci's shoulder but said nothing.

"Yes, the organizer said there are guns prepared for the participants on the island. Getting guns early will greatly benefit our next actions," Chu Ci nodded, pushed open the door of the leftmost building, stepped back a few steps to let the dust settle, and then scanned the room with his eyes.

This was clearly not a gun shop. From the yellowed posters on the wall, it was more likely a cafeteria. Chu Ci quickly flipped through the place, not even going upstairs, and started checking the next building.

It wasn't until the third building that Chu Ci knew he had come to the right place.

The dusty glass counter faintly revealed two handguns of unknown models, and a row of rusty iron nails on the wall. However, the shiny assault rifle inside didn't look like an antique.

"Damn, those organizers!" Chu Ci's first reaction wasn't joy but cursing the organizers.

He thought the organizers had only left an abandoned treasure for the participants, making the old guns technologically similar to the standard weapons he had. But the organizers had actually deployed hot weapons, and the models looked much more advanced than what Chu Ci had.

Despite his complaints, Chu Ci quickly took the gun down and inspected it. From the structure, it seemed to be a derivative of the AK, but it was more stable than the famous AK47. The front end was slender and lightweight, but it had a bayonet slot. Chu Ci tried it, and the tactical knife fit perfectly. The magazine capacity was 35 rounds, and from the slot lines, there should be high-capacity magazines, but unfortunately, Chu Ci couldn't find them. The bullet type was incompatible with his own, but the organizers were generous, providing three magazines, ensuring the AK wouldn't become a useless stick after a few shots.

After fiddling with the gun, Chu Ci put it away and walked to the counter, where there were two more handguns.

"Hmm, got it!" Before touching the counter, Chu Ci had an idea. He circled around to the back of the counter, ignored the door, and slowly felt under the counter, finding a suitable spot. He stuck a piece of gum and attached a remote bomb.

Then he stood up and installed a thin, hair-like wire at the door, setting up a simple but sinister trap.

Cheng Rui watched Chu Ci busily setting up the trap and wisely chose to stay still. After finishing, Chu Ci continued searching the building with Cheng Rui, finding a few more controlled knives, which he directly put away. Generally, one trap per location was enough; Chu Ci didn't expect other participants to fall for them one after another.

Cleaning the building like an RPG game, he found a hidden cellar and cleared out the canned food inside, leaving only one trap and no scraps for others.

After this treasure hunt, Chu Ci began to consider whether to continue the journey. It was almost noon, but the sky was very overcast, and it might rain. Once it rained, in this harsh natural environment, it was easy to catch a disease.

"Let's rest for now," Chu Ci looked at the messy traces outside the building, clearly indicating that someone had been there. "Might as well stir the water."

Chu Ci changed several pairs of shoes and went in and out of the building several times, considering where the handgun traps were and deliberately adding some sand to make the glass counter even more covered, giving other participants a reason to believe it was an accidental oversight.

After doing this, Chu Ci and Cheng Rui hid on the rooftop of one of the buildings, leaning against a water tank, setting up a tent, and applying a layer of gray soil powder as camouflage.

At 3:00 PM, Chu Ci still couldn't find the cameras the organizers had placed on the isolated island. The technology gap was too large; 20 years of development had made Chu Ci blind, let alone the wireless energy transmission technology in this world, which allowed the creation of pinhole wireless cameras installed everywhere. Even with a detector, it was impossible to clean every place.

Exploring without success, the wind picked up, and the drizzle pattered on the tent roof, making a steady, gentle sound. Chu Ci and Cheng Rui sat side by side, chatting intermittently, with very childish content. Cheng Rui aside, it was a miracle that Chu Ci could keep the conversation going.

Just as they were chatting, several participants rushed out of the jungle. On the third day of the game, this abandoned gun shop was about to witness its first battle!

PS: I've explained in the book review section several times. Today, I recommended the book to a friend, and his one sentence reminded me. I'm writing a feel-good story! Why be so strict? So, except for the two fixed flashbacks for the protagonist, I've simplified the outline and will follow the feel-good story route. Please rest assured, the party and the people.