SHOCK Chapter 3

Zhou Wu glanced around, his heart beginning to waver, his hands also loosening slightly.

He had never laid a hand on a woman before, although this strange dream felt as real as existence itself, making it hard to discern which world was more genuine.

The woman, her neck no longer constricted, gained a sliver of breathing room, and understood that this method was working.

She ceased her struggling and resistance, knowing her strength was far inferior to his.

Instead, she began to pull her clothes down with both hands.

Zhou Wu found it odd – what kind of clothes was this woman wearing?

How could they be so loose and easy to remove?

In his moment of distraction, the woman seized the opportunity, stripping off her clothes completely. She turned, broke free from Zhou Wu’s grasp, and opened her arms to embrace him.

[Omitted Text from Unoriginal Source]

The wilderness was silent, those mired in the muddy water were either dead or injured.

Even those still alive lacked the strength to lift their heads.

To be able to ambush others like the Mud Man Woman was a sign of extraordinary talent; those with exceedingly weak constitutions had already perished.

Amidst his confusion, Zhou Wu was knocked into the muddy water by the naked woman, watching as her face, smeared with grayish-black mud, slowly approached his own.

At this time, the sky was beginning to lighten, but the frigid, piercing air remained as sharp as knives.

Looking into the distance, a snow-white, naked body rolled twice, instantly becoming a grayish-black mud figure once more.

Zhou Wu’s befuddlement faded, his mind clearing.

With less than two hours of life remaining, how could he be in the mood for a woman?

He exerted a bit of force, pushing the Mud Man Woman away, sending her tumbling into the muddy water.

“I’m not killing you,” he thought, “consider it an act of extraordinary grace.”

Surrounded by such circumstances, Zhou Wu’s heart also hardened.

He turned his head to look at the bamboo pole fifty meters away and the red cloth strip still fluttering in the air.

His remaining half of the cornbread was nowhere to be seen. Zhou Wu scanned his surroundings, deciding there was no reason to linger.

Although killing someone with numbers on their forehead added to his life, all he saw were people wallowing in the mud, half-dead. There wasn’t a single unkilled number to be found.

Time was short. Rushing over could result in death, but staying here for another hour and a half would mean slowly dying in the mud like these others.

With that thought, he abruptly stood up and quickly ran towards the bamboo pole in the wilderness.

One end of the bamboo pole was stuck in the ground, slightly thicker than his thumb, while the other end held a red cloth strip a little over a foot long.

The only difficulty remained.

Cornbread Bro had told Zhou Wu that he couldn’t touch or knock over the bamboo pole.

Otherwise, the consequences would be deadly.

But although the bamboo pole wasn’t thick, it was nearly three meters tall, swaying in the cold wind. Even without touching it, it looked like it was about to fall.

Zhou Wu was about 1.8 meters tall. Even if he could jump exceptionally high, grabbing the red cloth strip…

Zhou Wu was a cautious person by nature, especially wary of the unknown.

He searched around, but besides the weeds, there was nothing he could use as a platform.

He crouched down again at the base of the bamboo pole, carefully observing it.

Sure enough, the bamboo pole was only stuck shallowly in the earth. Although the wind hadn’t knocked it over,

if Zhou Wu jumped up to grab the red cloth strip, the bamboo pole would definitely fall.

So that’s why Cornbread Bro insisted on dragging me along to retrieve the red cloth strip – that must have been a factor.

With two people, taking the red cloth strip would be much simpler.

Unable to act rashly, Zhou Wu squatted beside the bamboo pole, pondering how to obtain the red cloth strip without moving the pole.

This bizarre world filled him with tenfold frustration and tenfold caution.

Suddenly, he turned his head and saw the Mud Man Woman staggering towards him.

Clearly, their missions were the same – to obtain the red cloth strip.

The woman was startled when she saw Zhou Wu charging towards her like a madman.

Her hands instinctively began to untie the mud-soaked clothes she had just put on.

Just as Zhou Wu reached the woman, she collapsed to the ground, exhausted and frightened.

Zhou Wu, panting, reached out to help her.

He suddenly noticed that the numbers glowing faintly on the woman’s forehead showed only ‘2’.

The woman blankly looked at the red cloth strip above, then back at Zhou Wu.

“Can I still die?”

Zhou Wu knew he couldn’t rush things. If the woman violently yanked the cloth strip, knocking the bamboo pole down, things would go badly.

He took a breath, looked at the ‘1’ on the woman’s forehead, and pointed to the red cloth strip.

“As long as you don’t touch the bamboo pole, carefully untie it, we can both survive.”

Zhou Wu didn’t know what the result of getting the red cloth strip would be, but without a bit of deception, the woman wouldn’t be willing to help.

As he spoke, Zhou Wu lifted the woman, letting her stand on his shoulders, near the red cloth strip.

The woman swayed unsteadily, reaching out with both hands to grab the red cloth strip.

Zhou Wu quickly called out from below, “Don’t touch the bamboo pole, and don’t knock it over. Be careful!”

But the woman herself was unsteady, and the red cloth strip swayed in the wind, making it impossible to reach.

“Yes, now hurry up and grab it!”

Zhou Wu was anxious, knowing the woman’s time was running out. If she didn’t hurry, her life would be over.

“Okay, then I can rest assured.”

As she spoke, the woman tried to steady herself, slowly reaching out with both hands. One hand had already grabbed the red cloth strip.

Just as she was about to pull the cloth strip down, her body suddenly stiffened, and then she fell from Zhou Wu’s shoulders.

He glanced at the woman lying on her back, a faint green ‘0’ on her forehead, slowly dissipating.

The red cloth strip still fluttered in the air, and the bamboo pole continued to sway.

On Zhou Wu’s glabella, only 59 minutes remained.

After a moment, he suddenly turned and ran towards the riverside.

Dragging a corpse, he ran back towards the bamboo pole.

Repeating this seven or eight times, he finally gathered over a dozen corpses.

Then, stacking the corpses up, he slowly climbed up.

Although the method was somewhat cruel, it didn’t violate any rules. To survive, this was the most time-saving way. Getting the red cloth strip was Zhou Wu’s victory.

Standing on the corpses, he gently reached out to take the red cloth strip.

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