The Cold and Ruthless Supporting Male Lead

The convenience store had quite a lot of supplies, specifically meant for players to resupply. They filled their backpacks with water and bread, stocking the food storage compartments to the brim before sneaking away quietly.

What should have been a perfectly normal activity turned into something that felt like a sneaky robbery.

They were likely separated from Bing Jingxue’s group by just a single wall. When leaving the convenience store, they could clearly hear Bing Jingxue’s loud voice carrying over, their conversations easily audible.

Hoping to avoid them entirely, Hai Ku’s group prepared to leave as soon as they exited the store.

However, at that moment, a commotion broke out nearby, followed by Bing Jingxue’s screams, which grew even louder. Mixed in were the shouts of other men.

The most terrifying sound, though, was the guttural growls of the infected.

When they had arrived earlier, there hadn’t been any infected in sight. But as they were about to leave, figures with rotting arms and decaying heads began emerging one by one.

It was as if a trigger had been set off, causing the previously hidden NPC infected to come out of hiding. They moved toward them at an excruciatingly slow pace.

“Back to the convenience store!” Longde Chuanren reacted quickly, snapping out of his brief shock and issuing a command.

There were too many of them to handle, and they didn’t want to use the Companion Spray yet. Their only option was to retreat to the store, close the large iron door, and secure it.

Fortunately, the store’s door was a heavy metal one. Although the infected were numerous, their combat ability was comparable to ordinary humans. As long as they avoided close contact and didn’t get scratched, they wouldn’t be infected. In some ways, the infected weren’t as dangerous as zombies.

Hai Ku hurried to secure the door, then ran to the back of the convenience store to lock the rear exit as well.

But as soon as he heard a noise behind him, a group of people entered the store.

Though the back door was now locked, their group ended up face-to-face with none other than the female lead herself.

When Longde Chuanren and Dong Hai followed behind, they exchanged glances with Bing Jingxue, their expressions full of complicated emotions.

“So this is why I lost track of my team members; You ran over here, huh?” Bing Jingxue sneered, holding a child about 3 or 4 years old in her arms. She looked at Longde Chuanren with disdain. “I must have been blind to bring you into my team in the first place. Good thing your bad luck is finally catching up to you.”

She grabbed Longde Chuanren’s arm roughly, but Hai Ku shook his head at him. “Don’t act rashly.”

Although Bing Jingxue had contributed somewhat by bringing Longde Chuanren into her team, he had done a lot for her back on the second level. He had even nearly returned to the first level because of her.

On top of that, he had endured her constant nagging. By this point, the two of them had more or less settled their accounts.

Bing Jingxue had joined a new team that seemed to be doing well. It was a small group of seven or eight people, all at high levels, and it was clear they had been spending most of their time immersed in the game.

The area outside was crawling with infected, and the small convenience store was packed with people. The cramped space made Hai Ku’s group move to the far end, where they sat down quietly, avoiding any interaction with Bing Jingxue’s group.

Bing Jingxue had her own matters to handle and didn’t bother talking to them either. She placed the child on the ground and began persuading her team.

“Look at this child; white and tender. How could he possibly be infected? I think you’re all being too paranoid. This kid has lived here the entire time and knows the terrain well. If we bring him along, we might find the medicine faster,” she said, gazing at the child with a face full of affection. She had always been weak to cute things like this.

The children in this game world were far cuter than those in the real world.

“While that might be true, we can’t be sure he’s uninfected. This is just a game world, and it’s not necessary to bring the child with us, is it?” someone in the team voiced their doubts.

They had played other games before and learned the hard way that things that seemed harmless often turned out to be the most dangerous bosses. After being burned in other games, they had grown cautious in this one.

They didn’t dare bring anything uncertain with them, yet they couldn’t understand how this woman could be so reckless and overly sympathetic.

And yet, her luck had always been exceptional. Ever since teaming up with her, things had gone smoothly, which made them hesitant to defy her too openly.

“Don’t you believe me?” Bing Jingxue glared at the speaker, then handed the child over. “As punishment for doubting me, you’ll take responsibility for this child. If anything happens, I’ll take the blame.”

She said that with absolute confidence. After all, her backpack was stocked with plenty of antidotes. Even if the child were infected, it wouldn’t be a problem.

To reassure the team, Bing Jingxue pulled out a vial of Anti-Infection Spray from her backpack and sprayed it on the child. “There. Now there’s no issue at all. You all know how effective this spray is.”

Hai Ku didn’t say anything, instead letting Lan Bai quietly check the child’s information.

***

In a game like this, one that involves puzzle-solving, it was hard to believe that a tender, white-skinned child would just appear out of nowhere. This wasn’t a case of the female lead getting extra experience or being gifted with bugs; there had to be some kind of secret behind it.

Lan Bai had been like a dead rabbit before, but once despair set in, his admiration for Bing Jingxue started to fade.

After scanning the child’s information, Lan Bai transmitted it to Hai Ku.

“Phew…” Once Hai Ku received all the information, he grabbed Longde Chuanren and Dong Hai, pulling them toward the back door. Not caring that there were still plenty of infected people outside, Hai Ku quickly pulled out his spray and applied it to them.

“Let’s leave immediately,” Hai Ku whispered urgently, quickly opening the door.

With the Companion Spray applied, they weren’t attacked when they left, but they didn’t slow down either. Once they reached a more open area, they immediately brought out the vehicle.

After everyone had safely gotten into the car, Longde Chuanren asked, “What just happened? Why the sudden rush?”

“That child…” Hai Ku hesitated, unable to explain much. He simply sent over the information Lan Bai had passed him.

The game’s storyline was set in a city that had been infected. Ninety percent of the citizens had already been infected because the mayor had developed a strange drug and used the citizens as test subjects.

Unfortunately, things got out of control, and everyone became infected. That child from earlier? He was the mayor’s son.

Once everyone was infected, as long as the mayor’s son was unharmed, the citizens couldn’t quell their anger. So wherever the mayor’s son went, the infected crowds would follow him.

After reading that, Dong Hai and Longde Chuanren broke out into a cold sweat. “I can’t believe you found this hidden setting.”

“Let’s just say she really has a way of stumbling upon everything,” Hai Ku sighed, unable to help but marvel at the female lead’s luck. He wasn’t sure whether it was something to admire or feel pity for.

In any case, it seemed like she was always encountering bad luck, but now that the male lead wasn’t around, perhaps she wouldn’t have anyone to solve her problems anymore.

Thinking that way, Hai Ku’s mood improved considerably. He even felt like a truly terrible person.

They hurried toward the seaside town. It took them 3 full days to finally reach their destination.

The sea breeze howled as they parked the vehicle in their backpack. They found a dilapidated building to discuss their next steps.

The item they were looking for could only be found where there was clean water. However, this entire area was infected with contaminated water, so finding clean water wasn’t guaranteed to happen in this vast expanse.

There might be a secret location hidden somewhere. Having learned the nature of this game, they weren’t planning on heading straight for the sea but instead began searching the surrounding area.

News came from Xi Hai that they had found the antidote and were now waiting at the assembly point. As soon as Hai Ku’s group found the antidote here, they would use the transmission function to return to the assembly point, combine the antidotes, and advance to the fourth level.

After receiving this news, they knew they had to speed up their search.

With Lan Bai’s cheat-like ability, they had narrowed down the search area to this small village. Expanding the map, Hai Ku looked for possible clean water sources.

They finally found a dried-up well, and just as they did, the first team announced they had passed the third level.

Without even thinking, Hai Ku knew it was the female lead’s group. He immediately became anxious.

Fortunately, this place didn’t disappoint. In the dried-out pump well, there were indeed a few strands of black seaweed.

Not daring to waste too much time, they grabbed the seaweed and immediately used the transmission function to join Xi Hai team.

After combining the three antidotes, they successfully created the antidote liquid, and a map appeared before them.

A bright area on the map had expanded, indicating that the antidote was working.

Soon after, the transmission point to the fourth level opened right in front of them.