Famine 125: Lava Shop
by CristaeYe Xianqing slept the soundest, most restful sleep of his life.
He was deeply enveloped in down feathers, the softness of the linens and mattress cocooning him like a mother’s embrace. Gentle humming lingered in his ear—warmth he hadn’t known in so long. In a daze, it was as if he’d returned to childhood, napping next to his mother after a midday meal.
Curtains blocked the noon sun, leaving the room bathed in a twilight glow. The electric fan creaked overhead. His mother sat at the bedside, humming softly, chatting quietly with his grandmother and gently patting his back. Beyond the window, cicadas droned in the summer heat, muffled behind the glass, just as his mind was shrouded in comfortable haze.
This time, his mother didn’t wake him.
There are moments in life when you think, “It feels so good to be alive.”
When Ye Xianqing finally blinked himself awake, that slow-drifting happiness was still suffusing his chest. The raw pain in his head was gone, replaced with a gentle, dizzy satisfaction.
He lay quietly for a long while before recalling that this was a survival game.
He had nearly forgotten.
Ye Xianqing rolled over, hugging the extra pillow and surreptitiously nuzzling the bedding. He felt as though his bones had turned to water, clean, comfortable—refreshed. And he was intact; nothing had befallen him while he slept.
How remarkable a place this was.
Lowering his gaze, Ye Xianqing habitually glanced at his pocket watch…
What he saw nearly sent his soul fleeing, his eyes almost popping from their sockets.
Bang!
The guestroom door slammed inward. Ye Xianqing raced out in three long steps, cold sweat beading as he ran.
“How did I sleep so long?!”
The pocket watch told him he’d slept more than a full day and night—almost thirty hours!
He’d arrived at the hostel at the start of his third day separated from the team. Now, halfway into the fourth, it was almost impossible to get back within five days—he’d have to fight for every second!
And he thought himself alert, rational, in control—confident enough to travel alone.
Except… these hostel rooms… were just too cozy… and the beds… too soft…
Ye Xianqing winced with regret.
Thinking of what he’d written in his goodbye letter, numbness spread through him.
He had to get back before five days passed—had to!
Pushing open the hostel’s exit, he was dazzled by brightness.
Lava light flared across a vast, crystal-clear glass platform beneath his feet. Rivers of molten light rushed below, filling the expanse with radiance—more than enough space for “Friend” to take off.
Glass display cabinets lined the edge of the platform, packed with delicious-looking breads and cookies, their scent wafting right to him. In the center, neat rows of shelves groaned beneath a bounty of foods and finely packed crafts. The displays might have seemed disorderly, but in a single glance, Ye Xianqing spotted tags like [NEW! New Energy], [Seasonal Rarities, Master Apothecary Collection], and more…
…Ye Xianqing froze on the spot.
This—
It was nearly impossible not to browse…
But—he was really running out of time… Ye Xianqing struggled for several seconds with himself, finally steeling his will, when a sudden, intense surge of danger swept over him from behind.
Empty!
Every hair on Ye Xianqing’s body stood on end. Before he could react, an overwhelmingly powerful figure with dragon wings and a roaring fire aura grabbed his shoulders from behind.
“What’s with that look?” Nidhogg’s hand clamped down like steel, bloodred light burning in his vertical pupils, his features twisted into a frighteningly genial smile.
“With a shop this beautiful, how can you just stand here gawking?”
There was no resisting! He could not struggle at all!
This was an opponent he could never hope to overcome!
Before he could utter a word, Nidhogg, with irresistible force, slung an arm over his shoulders and dragged Ye Xianqing between the shelves.
Ye Xianqing, drained of color, instinctively let out a scream, cold sweat soaking his back. “I—”
He didn’t finish before Nidhogg’s patience snapped. “What’s with all this bullshit? Buy something! Buy a lot!”
The shout reverberated like a dragon’s roar, with an instinctive authority so fierce that Ye Xianqing’s brain went blank and his body flinched. He hurriedly grabbed the first item his hand touched, peered at the label, and his pupils shrank in shock!
[Accessory—Portable Lava Bottle]
A glass vial filled with molten lava, radiating the brilliance of fire.
To bring away a pool of magma just for you—this is a gift of warmth from the heart.
The lava inside can glow for 4.5 hours in the abyss without being extinguished by the local rules; timer starts when the leather packing is torn. Average unpacking time 15 seconds, not lengthened by abyssal rules.
Lava radiance covers a 1-meter radius, with no limit on the number of people within the area.
Price: 2500 points.
!!
A true continuous light source that broke the 60-minute sleep boundary!!
4.5 hours of light—what did this mean? Under the Lava Bottle’s protection, people—
Though 2500 wasn’t cheap, in a sleepless abyss this was a miracle tool! Worth every point, even as a consumable!
To buy something like this, it was worth any price—
Ye Xianqing’s heart pounded, and he wanted to read every label in detail—but at that moment, a dragon’s roar burst beside his ear, making him jump in fright:
“Enough already! Hurry up and buy!! Do you hear me!!”
Ye Xianqing stared blankly: “But I just—”
Nidhogg: “No buts! Buy!”
Ye Xianqing swallowed his complaints with a bitter sigh: “……”
What followed was a stretch of memory that was both excruciating and ecstatic…
Nidhogg projected his full aura, barking and roaring at Ye Xianqing nonstop, making every danger sense in the doctor’s body ring out—cold sweat pouring, his instincts screaming as he snatched up product after product with trembling hands.
Nidhogg hollered, “Opportunities like this come once in a lifetime—how could you pass them up?! Hurry up! Buy, buy, buy! If you’re alive—you buy, buy, buy…!”
Ye Xianqing’s very liver trembled, but he forced himself not to flee. Taking a deep breath, he focused on reading each description: Hello, this is XXX, function is XXX, price is XXX… only here could you find such an effect, this price is well worth considering…
The squad was probably still starving—I should look for food that’s portable, plentiful, and filling, good for recommending… Ah, this one—Yan Cheng likes it, though it’s pricey; still, I should get one for him… Every time I give him a gift he’s so happy, though he never says anything…
This pendant looks interesting too—what’s its power? Let me check… Yikes!! That’s terrifying!
Ugh!! So annoying!! Why does it feel like my reasoning is arguing with Nidhogg’s sales pitch the whole time!!
Ye Xianqing raged inside.
Shouldn’t you be introducing the items to me, recommending the best? And I should be the one shrieking “buy, buy, buy” and panic-buying everything!!
Is it possible I was going to buy anyway!? If you keep rushing me I won’t ever want to leave!!
After seeing this stuff, who’d want to walk away?!!
In the end, thanks to the joint “efforts” of Nidhogg and Ye Xianqing, the doctor spent a fortune on piles upon piles of bags—food and souvenirs all packed for the return journey, and left, delighted (perhaps) with his arms full…
Such a rational doctor, and yet he all but crawled out of the shop on his hands and knees…
Who knew what urgent errand awaited, but there must have been some pressing business.
Shi He, witnessing it all, “…”
Suddenly felt sorry for their future convenience store customers.
“……”
Si Zhiyan, sitting in his chair at the farm, sipped his coffee.
He felt a touch of guilt for the young man, but desperate times called for desperate measures… Good luck to you.
Meanwhile, Ye Xianqing, laden with bags, dashed off down the familiar path, the wind howling past his ears.
His glasses were fogged, lips pressed tightly, face and ears flushed with a feverish red.
The camp was just ahead.
Please… let me make it in time!