Chapter 23: The Awaited Battle Strategy
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Gu Su was genuinely starving. A sharp pang of hunger surged from the depths of his stomach, spreading through his limbs to every corner of his body, leaving him restless and utterly drained.
Ever since he’d set foot in this bizarre and unpredictable Game World, trouble had followed him like a shadow. He was like a wind-up top, never allowed a moment’s rest.
He was either fighting goblins, shaggy rats, or Harpies—endless battle after battle after battle.
Or he was leading his Skeleton Squad, hurrying through desolate and dangerous woods, ever vigilant against the unknown threats around him.
Any spare moments were spent scavenging for supplies and reinforcing his gear.
Forget a hot meal or a sip of clean water—he hadn’t even had a chance to put a single edible thing in his mouth.
Now, he was so hungry he felt dizzy, his vision swam with black spots. His legs were so weak he could barely stand, and a fine tingle of numbness crept into his fingertips from low blood sugar. Even the strength to lift his hands had faded.
He pinched the bridge of his nose hard, forcing himself to shake off the dizzy spell and rapidly assess his current situation.
’The Oil Monster is tough and bizarre. Normal weapons can’t even scratch it, and my plan has too many uncertainties. This clearly isn’t the time to rush in for revenge.’
’First, I need to take care of my hunger and thirst. That’s the most urgent and critical matter at hand.’
Having made up his mind, Gu Su shook his heavy head and shuffled slowly into the tent on unsteady feet.
He began rummaging quickly through a messy pile of miscellaneous items.
But after just a few moments of searching, he couldn’t help but curse under his breath, his voice thick with suppressed anger and frustration.
’That damned merchant was too greedy! He silently swiped the three days’ worth of food and water that should have been allotted to me when I first entered the game!’
’When I get a chance to leave this game, I’ll find that scoundrel and settle the score. I can’t just suffer this loss in silence; I won’t be able to let this go.’
After muttering to himself, Gu Su stepped out of the tent and gave a stern order to the Skeletons waiting in the Graveyard Demon Land. He commanded them to head into the woods immediately and hunt wild animals like rabbits and pheasants.
Gu Su’s knowledge of botany was pitifully shallow; he couldn’t tell which of the bizarrely shaped fruits and leaves in the forest were edible and which were Highly Poisonous.
He was afraid that a moment of carelessness would lead him to eat something toxic, costing him his life before he could even level up.
In contrast, fresh meat was safe to eat as long as it was cooked thoroughly.
It would both fill his stomach and quickly restore his stamina.
The most important thing right now was to fill his belly and regain his strength, lest he pass out from hunger and exhaustion during a direct confrontation.
If that happened, not only would he be unable to fight the Oil Monster, he would likely get himself killed in the process. He’d be well and truly finished.
Upon hearing Gu Su’s command, the Elite Skeletons beside him didn’t hesitate for a second. They all nodded in acknowledgment and strode away, their figures quickly vanishing into the shadows of the dense woods.
For these unwaveringly loyal Skeletons, combat never required complex instructions or unnecessary words. As long as the objective was clear, they would execute it with all their might.
Gu Su, meanwhile, sat back down on the bed, struggling to steady his light-headed body as he quietly awaited news from his Skeletons.
About seven or eight minutes later, a jumble of heavy footsteps echoed from the distance, mingled with the low sounds of Skeletons and the distinct creak of an old pickup truck’s wheels rolling over the ground.
The Skeleton caravan was slowly returning.
It was the squad he had previously sent to the abandoned shopping mall to scavenge for Resources.
Once again, the dilapidated pickup truck they were pushing was loaded to the brim, almost to the point of overflowing.
Miscellaneous items like plastic and glass bottles were piled up like a mountain.
Many of these things were actually useless, but those had been Gu Su’s orders.
While some of them were assigned to load the oil from the freezer warehouse, others searched for more supplies.
After searching the ground floor of the mall for a long time, they finally found the stairs leading to the supermarket on the second floor.
However, just like the first floor, most of the supplies on the second floor had long been cleared out by others.
Most of what remained had rotted or spoiled with the passage of time, becoming completely useless. Only a few small, unremarkable, unwanted, or unusable items had luckily survived.
Gu Su walked forward slowly and bent down to inspect the supplies in the pickup, his gaze sweeping over the clutter.
He saw that, aside from the truck bed being filled with sludge, the haul consisted of a large quantity of plastic products that couldn’t be broken down by the environment.
There were old plastic basins, plastic buckets, and scattered plastic fragments—unimpressive, but they might prove useful.
In addition, there were several bottles of alcohol caked in thick mud. The bottles were covered in dust, and their original labels were so faded that the brand and alcohol content were illegible. There was no telling how many years they had been buried in the ruins.
But judging by the condition of the bottles, the alcohol should still be drinkable.
What surprised him even more was a large, heavy bag of industrial salt in the corner of the truck bed.
Although the writing on the bag was mottled and blurry, he could vaguely make out the marked weight: fifty kilograms.
Next to it was some scattered table salt in a worn-out plastic bag, which had barely managed to keep it from spilling.
Gu Su frowned, puzzled. He couldn’t figure out how the Skeletons had managed to dig up these inconspicuous yet practical items from such a chaotic ruin.
But he was certain that most of these items were stable and not prone to spoilage. In the current situation, perhaps every single one could have an unexpected use.
His gaze slowly shifted, finally settling on the bottles of alcohol and the two bags of salt.
Something suddenly clicked in Gu Su’s mind. A previously vague idea instantly became crystal clear.
A plan to deal with the bizarre Oil Monster emerged like a flash of inspiration.
The Oil Monster had a strange appearance. Its body was covered in viscous, black oil, and its form was bloated and clumsy. From a distance, it even bore a slight resemblance to a giant snail carrying its shell.
Based on Gu Su’s knowledge of Basic Science, he knew that salt was a natural counter to soft-bodied creatures like snails.
Once a snail’s body comes into contact with salt, it is forced to rapidly expel its internal moisture, eventually causing it to dehydrate, shrivel up, and die.
For a snail, this was undoubtedly a fatal blow.
’Perhaps salt can counter that bizarre Oil Monster in the same way it counters snails.’
’As for the alcohol that’s been buried for years,’ Gu Su thought, ’that’s just an unexpected bonus. Since I haven’t been able to get my hands on any gasoline, this alcohol of unknown concentration can serve as a substitute.’
’Even if a direct fire attack doesn’t have the desired effect, I can easily process this high-proof alcohol in glass bottles into simple Molotov cocktails.’
’Then I’ll let this Oil Monster experience the Power of knowledge.’