(Make sure to favorite this, favoriting is the real deal; it's the motivation for my bursts of inspiration.)
It was a young man who arrived, perhaps he was a decent soldier originally, but seeing him now, one could only think of the phrase "something's wrong."
His bare upper body was covered in whip marks, smeared with filth indistinguishable from animal excrement or dirt. Below, he wore a pitifully small piece of animal hide, like the tiny bikinis worn by beach beauties in summer. His hair was a mess, a complete bird's nest, and he limped as he walked.
"I'm number 500, you're that Number 0 who first entered the game, right?" Number 500 grinned, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he winced with pain. Before the cries of pain even ended, he began to bawl, tears and snot streaming down his face.
This Number 500 was quite a tragic figure. He was one of the last selected for the special experiment by Rand Military District. He had a dreadful fear of the dark, and while other players were out within 72 hours, he had fainted and endured the darkness for five days and nights.
By the time he came to, he was already in a Primitive Tribe.
"I'm a victim of unfortunate circumstances," Number 500 reached out his hands, hands that were well-groomed. In these two months, his hands had almost been ruined. "I was saved by an old lady in charge of cooking for one tribe, every day was spent chopping and hauling wood. Hard work all day, less than eight hours of sleep, only earning 25 Military Merit Points each day."
After listening to his miserable and painful rant, Number 0 got the gist, "Are you stopping me just to tell me this?" The more Number 0 looked at this man, whose height and appearance were still quite masculine, the more he seemed somewhat effeminate.
"It's not over yet, I'm such a pathetic person. I thought, being a Woodcutter, I wouldn't have to participate in tribal warfare and would be safe. I could bear the hard work, but who knew, half a month ago, I wandered a bit too far when I went out in the middle of the night to relieve myself and got captured by another tribe. Despite my fierce resistance, I lost the brain scanner issued by the military. The worst part is, my chopping wood Military Merit Points, gone. With two months almost up, I barely managed to escape, but now, I only have 780 points."
After Number 500 finished speaking, he dramatically wiped the corner of his eyes, it was hard to tell if he was wiping sweat or tears. As the mud smeared away, his skin appeared even finer and whiter than a woman's.
"So, what do you want? For me to give you my Military Merit?" It seemed Number 500 had overheard her conversation with Sun's Crown and knew she had an extra 250 points of Military Merit. But, this kind of record-registered data can be given away? "Is that even possible?" Number 0 looked towards Sun's Crown swirling leisurely and brimming with reflective light.
"It's possible, other people's Military Merit can be acquired through gifting, selling, or killing," Sun's Crown continued to rotate in a calm and composed manner.
The water from the fountain, reflecting the sunlight, cast a fleeting, illusory rainbow.
The sound of a knife being unsheathed, and in Number 500's seemingly harmless hands, appeared a very sharp axe used for chopping wood. With enough practice, anything can become second nature, splitting wood or splitting people, it's all just splitting.
Today was the last day to exit Military Road, and most of the players who were supposed to leave had already left. Number 500 had been waiting near Sun's Crown for so long and had only come across Number 0.
Number 0's appearance and her extra Military Merit Points made Number 500 jealous. She was dressed in complete Private uniform, with her military rank already updated. Not a speck of mud on her, even the wet mud on her boots had been scraped clean on the lawn.
"I'll tell you the truth," Number 500, looking at the rainbow sprouting from the fountain and speaking with a hint of pride, "I'm one of the very few real soldiers among these 500 players, if you don't hand over your Military Merit, I have no choice but to turn this clear spring red."
The transient rainbow quickly vanished, and in the air, with a coolness of water, the woman's mouth quirked up to one side.
"Name: Number 500. Military Rank: Private. Physical Strength: 150, Spiritual Power: 50, Anger Value: 0, Military Merit: 780. Strengths: good at playing dumb and catching the wise, likes to use tactics to paralyze the enemy and win sympathy. Weaknesses: often misjudges the strength of both friends and foes." A woman spoke from a little over a meter away, her warm breath brushing across Number 500's muddy forehead.
In the sunlight, the woman's face was somewhat blurry. After hearing his own stats, Number 500 was shocked, but soon regained his composure. This woman...
"In kind, I'll introduce myself as well. Name: Number 0. Military Rank: Private First Class. Physical Strength: 180, Spiritual Power: 200, Anger Value: 20, Military Merit: 250. As for strengths, you've seen and heard them already." In Number 0's hand was a silver-white pistol, with a barrel diameter smaller than a regular pistol's, looking like a needle shooting gun with less leathality.
"How can this be?" From Number 0's account, Number 500 was shocked to learn all her attributes surpassed his own. But her Affiliated Skills, her Spiritual Power, were all different from any other player Number 500 had ever encountered.
"Don't be too surprised. We are now both entities beyond the anticipation of the National Security Department. Whether you kill me, or I shoot you, none of the current events will be known to anyone." Number 0's overly calm demeanor gave Number 500 goosebumps all over. That so-called brain scanner must be what's relaying their situation to entities outside the National Security Department.
Number 500 did not put down the woodcutter's axe in his hand as he was still weighing his options.
"Right now, there are two options, either we both walk away severely wounded or I sell you my excess Military Merit..." Number 0's smile lingered at the corner of her mouth, but she put down the ghost pistol in her hand. From Number 500's reaction, it seemed he had made up his mind.
"Sell?" Number 500 had no idea in his mind, as he had not undergone the final audit and had not a single military coin on him.
"Yes, since you were a soldier before and counted as a regular official, I have a bank account here. After you exit Military Road, transfer twenty-two thousand to that account." Number 0 immediately came up with a price. Since the system had not set a value for Military Merit, she decided to calculate one herself.
"You're really skinning me alive," Number 500 lamented. Two hundred twenty Military Merit Points would equate to two months' time; twenty-two thousand currency, that was enough to pay the salary of a Sergeant-level military official.
"Take it or leave it. By the way, I should tell you, the bullets in this gun are highly toxic, get pricked by this needle, and you won't have to worry about any Military Merit Points ever again," said Number 0 expressionlessly, pretending to continue the final tally with the Sun's Crown as before.
"Wait, I agree, damn it," Number 500 cursed, figuring he could just transfer now, and if worse comes to worst, deny it after quitting the game.
The two had just agreed on the matter of Military Merit Points when their mission handbooks both updated with a new entry: "Reached an agreement with Number 500 to transfer 220 Military Merit Points and with Number 0 to receive 220 Military Merit Points. The agreement has been generated under system monitoring. The party breaching the agreement will lose double the Military Merit Points." Number 500's face turned pale; though usually a calculative person, he never expected to fall into a trap set by this system and Number 0.
After confirming their intentions, a player trade window popped up. Number 0 accurately entered 220 Military Merit Points, and after Number 500 confirmed it, both of their Military Merit Points changed accordingly.
Number 500, now with 220 additional Military Merit Points, left a contact number for Number 0 and hurried away to tidy himself up on the side.
"Number 0, the 60-day deadline is approaching. Please confirm again if you would like to receive an additional reward from Prehistoric Space and select an item from Prehistoric Space," the Sun Instrument said in its usual tone, indifferent to Number 0's sharp dealings and Number 500's reluctant acquiescence.
"Yes, I have already decided. I want to bind an item," Number 0 said, her face showing a hint of playfulness. This journey through Military Road was definitely worth it.