Chapter 936: Adorable Little Rabbit
This day passed agonizingly slowly. The shaded area between the two ore zones was like the filling in a sandwich cookie, pressed so close together that it wasn't much cooler, but it did help cool down the vehicles somewhat.
Shangguan Xi wrung out his soaked clothes, tossed them back into the luggage compartment, and hugged the ice bucket. "If the place weren't so wrong, I'd definitely go without pants."
"No one wants to see your bare ass," Pan Qiao teased him, using a prop to help Kuang Wenjun cool down.
Kuang Wenjun was the most heavily dressed person. Even after taking off her coat, she still wore long sleeves and pants. She seemed to dislike others' strange looks, so she hadn't even removed her hat.
Now everyone was too hot and flustered to care about her past.
"I'm going over there," Shangguan Xi said, tossing away his empty water bottle and heading behind a large tree. As soon as he approached the grass, a furry rabbit hopped out, looking quite appetizing.
"Time for a snack..." Before he could make a move, the seemingly harmless little rabbit suddenly bared its teeth—a row of steel-saw-like fangs—and lunged at him!
"Smack!" Shangguan Xi was quick. He put on his glove and slapped it dead with one blow. As he bent down to pick it up, a second and third rabbit leaped out of the grass, also pouncing on him!
Dealing with two rabbits wasn't a problem, but after killing those two, several more jumped out, quickly forming a small crowd.
Now Shangguan Xi could no longer casually "hunt." Anything becomes dangerous in excessive numbers—even ants can kill a person.
On the other side, Gao Xiaoyan and her group had already nimbly boarded their vehicle. Xu Huo's group did the same. Shangguan Xi leaped onto the speeding off-road vehicle and looked back. "Are wild rabbits always this aggressive?"
"Aggressive" didn't even cover it. Countless rabbits poured out like a tipped-over rice jar, charging at the vehicles without hesitation. They were not only fast but also had incredible jumping power. Especially one long-eared type—as they ran, they launched themselves like small cannonballs. Occasionally, they slammed into the car body with a loud crash. Not only did the car rattle, but their skulls rattled too.
Fortunately, these rabbits also feared the high heat. Once the vehicles left the shaded area, they stopped chasing, instead stacking on top of each other to form a wall, screeching incessantly in the direction of their departure. From a distance, it looked like a grotesque wall of monsters, unsettling to behold.
The rabbits couldn't handle the high heat, and neither could the people. Without the shaded area, they had no place to hide and had to travel under the scorching sun. Before long, the car's exterior was hot to the touch inside.
"You could fry meat on that," Shangguan Xi said, sprawled ungracefully over the ice bucket. "The ice is melting too... How much longer will this heat last?"
"At least another hour," Teacher Ai replied. "If we're unlucky, maybe two, depending on today's weather."
Xu Huo opened the "Umbrella of Justice," waited a moment, then put it away—the prop couldn't withstand this weather either; it couldn't even make it rain.
"Let's cool it down manually. If the car keeps burning like this, it'll be scrap," Pan Qiao said.
Zhu Feiyun casually splashed the water from the ice bucket onto the roof. With a sizzling sound, the dripping water evaporated instantly upon hitting the ground, completely useless.
"Does anyone have a sunshade or something?" Kuang Wenjun said weakly.
"Why don't you use a prop to speed us up?" Shangguan Xi suggested.
"It's not very effective," Kuang Wenjun shook her head. "Better to use a sun-shading prop."
"I didn't buy one. Did any of you?" Zhu Feiyun asked.
Usually, they traded for combat-type props; no one thought to prepare a sun umbrella in advance.
Xu Huo had traded for a piece of sunshade cloth, barely enough to cover most of the car, but its effect was minimal.
Fortunately, in less than an hour, Gao Xiaoyan ahead notified them that the high-heat period had passed. It would get cooler from here, and it might even rain, so they should prepare in advance.
At the word "rain," everyone in the car perked up. Pan Qiao wiped his sweat and said, "Rain is good. It should have rained a long time ago..."
The rain came faster than they expected, and suddenly. After another hour passed, thunderclouds rolled in from the horizon. With alternating lightning, a downpour like a waterfall crashed from the sky, shaking the entire vehicle. Even with full power, it felt like pushing against several cars ahead—they couldn't move fast at all.
The already battered car filled with water. Everyone put on protective suits. Pan Qiao stopped the car and said, "Let's take shelter from the rain. In a little while, I'm afraid I'll need a diving suit."
Xu Huo first contacted Gao Xiaoyan, then opened the "Only Entrance" to let the car drive inside.
"What kind of hellhole is this!" Shangguan Xi exclaimed as he hurriedly stripped off his protective suit and wiped the water off his face. "How can anyone live here? The rain alone could drown a person!"
"That's why not much grain can be grown here," Kuang Wenjun said. "Sometimes you plant it, but by harvest time, one rain or one snowstorm wipes everything out. Building a greenhouse requires top-notch technology and materials. And come to think of it, how big would a greenhouse have to be to feed so many people?"
This topic was heavy, and no one wanted to continue it.
Soon, Gao Xiaoyan's vehicle also entered. She got out with a smile and said, "This rain might last two hours. The artificial river will swell in the next few days, making it hard to cross the bridge. We can take it slow."
"That much rainfall?" Xu Huo looked over.
"If we're unlucky, even a base city could be flooded," Gao Xiaoyan said. "Last year, a newly built small base city was wiped out that way."
"I don't quite understand," Shangguan Xi interjected. "Since the environment is so harsh, why don't you just move to another game district?"
Of course, other game districts might not accept so many people, but there were plenty of districts.
"No matter what, it's still home. How could we just abandon it and leave?" Gao Xiaoyan smiled. "Besides, we all hope that one day the W37 Base Station can return to how it used to be."
"Players can leave, but where can ordinary people go?" Teacher Ai stared at her. "Ordinary people are seen as burdens in any game district."
"In W37 Base City, players and ordinary people are the same. Everyone has their role. No one is a burden," Gao Xiaoyan said, seemingly displeased with his remark. "Growing any crop requires a lot of manpower."
Teacher Ai's lips moved as if he wanted to say more, but he held back.
Gao Xiaoyan wasn't very interested in him and instead turned to chat with Xu Huo.
In fact, she paid little attention not only to Teacher Ai but also to Zhu Feiyun and Shangguan Xi, completely ignoring them in the subsequent conversation.
Shangguan Xi tried to interject a few times but was brushed aside, so he stopped speaking. He and Zhu Feiyun's group listened in silence as Gao Xiaoyan deliberately created an invisible barrier separating them from Xu Huo. For a moment, it felt as if Xu Huo had become an honored guest of W37, while Shangguan Xi and the others were merely dispensable decorations.