48: Chapter 48 Sleepless Tonight

[The second wave of the corpse tide has ended.]

[The final wave of the corpse tide will begin in 7 days.]

[Given that half of the Tribes have perished and many have suffered severe population losses, the "Tribe Recruitment" system is now open. All surviving Tribes will receive between 5 to 10 "Recruitment Qualifications" based on their population losses.]

[Qualification holders may issue invitations to members of other Tribes upon mutual agreement.]

[Recruitment must be voluntary on both sides and cannot be forced.]

[Now, announcing the Top 10 of the current corpse tide points leaderboard.]

Golden text slowly scrolled across the top of the island channel. Every survivor, regardless of where they were or what they were doing, as long as they were conscious, saw this cold announcement automatically appear before their eyes.

Immediately, the entire island channel erupted into a frenzy!

"Our clan leader is dead. Can anyone take me in?"

"There are only three people left in our Tribe... everyone else is dead, they're all dead..."

"Recruitment Qualifications? What does that mean? We can join other Tribes now?"

"The Top 10! Quick, look who it is!"

Amidst the complex emotions of nervousness, anticipation, despair, and curiosity from countless people, the golden text continued to scroll down.

[10th Place: Tribe 75 (Iron Fortress), Survivors: 10/30, Points: 210]

[9th Place: Tribe 88 (Crimson Dawn), Survivors: 15/30, Points: 355]

[8th Place: ...]

The list moved upward, and every Tribe code and point total that appeared caused a wave of gasps.

To survive with so many people was already a miracle.

When the list reached the top three, the scrolling speed in the channel noticeably slowed down as everyone held their breath.

[3rd Place: Tribe 07 (The Ark), Survivors: 27/30, Points: 530]

"Hiss... 530 points! And 27 people survived?!"

"Tribe 07... I remember they have a rare class that can hide the Tribe's presence."

[2nd Place: Tribe 03 (God-Blooded), Survivors: 27/30, Points: 800]

"800 points! My god!"

"Tribe 03, that's the largest tribal alliance."

"They found an extremely sturdy and reliable cave. Tribe 07 seems to be in an alliance with them."

"To be able to hide while also killing so many zombies is just too strong."

Then, there was the Tribe whose font was deliberately bolded and enlarged in everyone's vision.

[1st Place: 01 Tribe (Unnamed), Survivors: 30/30, Points: 16,000]

Dead silence.

A dead silence that lasted over ten seconds, as if time itself had frozen.

16,000 points.

That was twenty times the points of the second-place Tribe 03!!

And... survivors, 30/30?

"W-wait, those survivors... what does 30/30 mean?"

Someone sent a message with a trembling hand.

"Literally, 30 people, all survived..."

Someone replied numbly.

"Impossible!! Faced with such a terrifying corpse tide... they all survived??!!"

"And they got 16,000 points?!! How the fuck is that possible?"

This message was practically roared out.

"Did you forget that 01 Tribe wiped out Tribe 14 overnight?"

"Even if 01 Tribe is strong, this is just too abnormal!"

"Our Tribe had thirty people, and only eight survived! How did they do it?! Rabbit! The system is glitched!"

"Zero casualties... in the second corpse tide... zero casualties???"

Shouts of doubt, madness, and disbelief instantly flooded the channel.

What they didn't know was that while all other Tribes chose to hide,

only 01 Tribe had faced the corpse tide head-on until the end.

The channel went completely insane.

The 01 that had once wiped out Tribe 14 overnight had emerged once again in a crushing fashion, firmly occupying the center of every survivor's attention.

"Their clan leader's name seems to be Qi Yun?"

"Is anyone from 01 Tribe here? Please introduce me! I'll do anything!"

"Big shot! Please take me in! I have the rare class 'Trap Master'!"

"Is 01 Tribe still recruiting? I'm pretty and I can warm the bed!"

Meanwhile, in front of the 01 Tribe's wooden house, there was a silence that was the complete opposite of the madness in the channel.

The girls were either sitting or standing, gathered around several relit campfires.

"We... are first?"

Lin Le murmured, her small face streaked with black and red.

"Sixteen thousand points..."

Xia Jin leaned against a charred wooden stake, her Blood Blade stabbed into the ground beside her.

Shu Qianxue plopped down on the ground, ignoring the bloodstains. She suddenly let out a "Ha!" and then her laughter grew louder and louder.

Qi Yun smiled along.

He looked at the familiar faces around him—Ke Yun, Bai Yu, Lin Le, Sophia, Chen Xiaolin... everyone was alive, everyone was still here.

Qi Yun raised his voice to make sure everyone could hear him.

"Bai Yu, are there any luxury items in the Point Shop?"

Everyone's eyes instantly focused on Bai Yu.

In a calm, steady voice, Bai Yu began to list them:

[food Category: Premium Cake (20 points), various fresh juices and rare fruits (15 points), A5 Wagyu Steak Set (50 points), Comprehensive Seafood Feast Platter (200 points/platter), Red Wine (Premium 10 points/bottle, Vintage 50 points/bottle)...]

[Clothing Category: Moonlight Silk Dress (20 points), Custom Tactical Leather Boots (10 points), High-grade Silk Stockings (5 points), Designer Shoes (5 points)...]

[Daily Items: Advanced Skincare and Bathing Set (10 points), High-grade Fishing Rod (50 points), Extra-large Ultra-soft Wool Carpet (40 points), Phantom Perfume (10 points)...]

[Fireworks Set (Small 10 points, Large 50 points), Gramophone + Records (20 points)...]

With every item Bai Yu announced, the girls' eyes grew brighter.

Some of these were once the most ordinary things, but on this island, they were luxuries that were difficult to obtain.

And now, sixteen thousand points sat before them like a glittering mountain of gold.

Qi Yun looked at the pairs of longing eyes and smiled.

He took a deep breath and said as loudly as he could:

"What are we waiting for?"

"If you want to eat something, buy it!"

"If you want to wear something, change into it!"

"If you want to drink something, take it!"

"I'm going to use my authority to allocate a 200-point allowance to each of you first. Use it however you want!"

"We're going to celebrate! Celebrate that we're still alive! Celebrate that we won!"

"Tonight, no training, no night watch, no rationing!"

"Tonight, there's only food, fine wine, music, and fireworks!"

"Tonight—we drink until we drop!"

A brief silence followed.

"YEAH!!!!!!!"

An earth-shattering cheer almost blew the roof off the remaining wooden house!

The girls jumped up, crying, laughing, and hugging each other.

"I want red wine! The vintage one! One bottle! No, two bottles!"

"A dress! That white dress! I haven't worn a dress in so long!"

"Steak! I want to eat steak! Medium-rare!"

"Fireworks! Fireworks!"

"Shampoo! Body wash! I'm going to take three baths!"

Various top-tier foods, high-quality clothes and shoes, and well-packaged daily necessities soon piled up into a small mountain in the clearing.

The girls screamed and pounced on them, looking for the items they desired.

Someone impatiently opened a bottle of premium red wine and took a huge swig directly from the bottle, only to be choked and cough repeatedly.

Someone had already lit the simple grill over the campfire and placed thick steaks on it; the rich aroma of meat instantly filled the air.

As the night deepened, the 01 Tribe's camp was as bright as day.

Several campfires blazed, with meat roasting and soup boiling over them.

The girls had changed into high-quality new clothes, and everyone was smiling radiantly.

They held cups filled with red wine or fruit juice.

Gathering in groups of two or three, they laughed loudly and shared food.

This was what they had fought so hard for; they deserved it.

The campfires crackled, and the bursting fireworks reflected off the girls' flushed cheeks and moist eyes.

Shu Qianxue, Xia Jin, and the others felt the power flowing through their bodies, which was more than a notch stronger than before; they had all gained new skills.

Ye Xi drank the most and was the wildest.

Clutching a nearly empty bottle of red wine, she stumbled through the laughing and playing crowd and went straight to Qi Yun.

"Qi Yun!"

She shouted loudly, her drunken recklessness instantly drawing many gazes from around them.

The girls giggled and crowded around, their eyes sparkling with the excitement of watching the show.

Ye Xi shoved the empty wine bottle into the hands of the person next to her and leaned forward slightly, almost touching Qi Yun.

Her warm, wine-scented breath brushed against his chin:

"You... tell me! Why are you so stupid?!"

Qi Yun's hand holding a beer can paused as he looked up into her shimmering eyes.

"How am I stupid?"

"You just are! You're a blockhead! A super invincible big idiot!"

Ye Xi pointed a finger, poking at his chest, her tone aggrieved and angry.

"You don't understand anything! You have no idea... no idea what I'm thinking!"

The laughter around them grew louder, interspersed with whistles.

Qi Yun felt a bit helpless and tried to help her stand steady:

"You've had too much to drink, Ye Xi."

"I haven't had too much!"

Ye Xi brushed off his supporting hand and instead took a step closer, tilting her face up. Under the glow of the campfire, her face was breathtakingly beautiful.

"Then look now! Look at me!"

She spun around slightly, letting the firelight outline her shapely curves, her long hair lifting with the movement.

"Am I pretty?"

"...Yes, you're pretty."

Qi Yun answered honestly. It was an objective fact.

Ye Xi seemed satisfied and puffed out her chest again, her figure fully revealed under her form-fitting clothes, carrying a drunken laziness and abandon:

"Then is my figure good?"

A chorus of suppressed gasps and excited intakes of breath sounded around them.

Qi Yun felt his forehead break into a sweat. Under the gaze of countless burning eyes, he forced himself to say:

"Yes."

"Exactly! I'm pretty, and my figure is good!"

Ye Xi acted as if she had obtained some proof, but her voice suddenly dropped.

"So many people used to chase me... sending me flowers, writing me love letters, asking me to movies... Why... why can't you just chase me too?"

Her eyes seemed to turn a bit red, whether from the alcohol or something else:

"Even if... even if you just asked once..."

Qi Yun was speechless.

He remembered the first time they met, her eyes filled with disgust and resistance, and that clear "I hate you."

Could he say that? Obviously not.

There was no reasoning with a drunk person, especially an emotional one.

He could only remain silent.

Ye Xi, however, took this silence as another rejection. She became even more anxious, grabbing his arm and shaking it:

"Say something! Why aren't you talking? Is it... is it because you think I'm not good? That you don't like me?"

She asked repeatedly, her tone shifting from questioning to aggrieved, but the words "Actually, I like you" rolled between her teeth countless times without ever being spoken.

While the hazy drunken questioning here was still unresolved, the fire on the other side was burning even brighter.

Shu Qianxue had clearly drunk a lot as well. She had her arm around Ke Yun's shoulder, and Chen Xiaolin had also leaned in.

Three women make a drama, let alone three women who had been drinking, had just gained power, and were in an extremely excited yet relaxed mood.

"Hey, seriously," Shu Qianxue said, her cheeks flushed but her eyes startlingly bright.

"What do you guys think... how does the Leader's body feel?"

"Pfft—!" A girl nearby who was drinking juice spat it out directly.

Ke Yun's face turned beet red, but she still forced herself to stay calm:

"It's... it's very solid. Very powerful."

"That time he taught me exertion techniques and held my wrist... I couldn't move at all."

Chen Xiaolin giggled, being even bolder:

"It's a pity, it was too urgent. My leg was almost broken, and he wasn't even out of breath."

She didn't finish, but the meaning was already crystal clear.

The women exchanged glances and cackled, a certain ambiguous atmosphere filling the air.

Shu Qianxue licked her somewhat dry lips, a competitive light flashing in her eyes:

"What's the use of just talking. Tonight... since everyone is happy anyway, how about... we try?"

"Try what?" Ke Yun asked foolishly.

"Let's compete," Chen Xiaolin took over, her eyes seductive.

"Let's see who... can get the Leader to give them a little more guidance?"

Qianxue agreed immediately, raising her cup.

"Alright, losers accept their fate! The person who loses has to call the winner 'Big Sister'!"

"Deal!"

The three women clinked their cups, laughing and giggling as they set this absurd bet.

Their gazes simultaneously turned toward Qi Yun, who was still being pestered by Ye Xi. Their eyes looked as if a hunter had spotted... prey.

Qi Yun felt a sudden chill down his spine.

As he dealt with the incoherent and pressing Ye Xi in front of him, he felt several other even more burning gazes.

The revelry was at its peak, and the intoxication was deep.

A sleepless night.