[The Highway Survival Game is loading. Current progress: 12%. Please wait patiently!]
The strange, mechanical voice echoed inside Lin Yue's mind in the middle of the night.
As an online writer, Lin Yue instinctively felt the urge to take immediate action upon hearing the first notification!
"highway Survival? A game?" She muttered softly. She had never written about survival stories before, but she had read her rival's works on them.
Lin Yue excelled at writing about face-slapping, rebirth, and romance — all her novels were sweet and cozy.
But real life was far from it.
Lin Yue was born with a weak heart and poor immunity. When she was four, her parents got divorced and left her in the care of her grandfather. Since then, she had become an introverted and cold child. During high school, her grandfather passed away. Both her parents were busy with their new families, leaving her completely alone.
Thankfully, her grandfather left behind a small supermarket in the countryside town for her. Now, Lin Yue lived a quiet life — writing novels online and managing the supermarket.
Tonight, while arranging newly arrived goods in the shop, she suddenly heard that voice.
Without thinking, Lin Yue grabbed two large empty carts. She filled the first one quickly — 10 kg bag of wheat, 10 kg bag of rice, 5L of vegetable oil, 1 kg bags of oats ×2, 1 kg sugar ×2, 1 kg salt ×2, 500 ml bottled water ×12, 1L milk cartons ×2, 1L orange juice cartons ×2, 1 kg dry fruits ×2, 1 kg dried vegetables ×2, a full set of seasonings, two trays of eggs, 250 g ham ×3, 300 g sausages ×4, two large instant noodle packs (6 small pack each), 500 ml honey, 500 ml strawberry jam,a box of small instant coffee sachet, Pack of multigrain bread x2, and one family pack of mint-flavored cream biscuits.
She paused to catch her breath. The cart was full to the brim, yet the shelves around her were still overflowing.
"How much time do I even have left?" she whispered anxiously, glancing at the ticking clock.
She began filling the second cart while carefully pushing the first toward the counter. Into the second cart went: one large toilet paper pack (12 rolls),two big sanitary napkin packs (enough for 5–6 months), face wipe packs (50 sheets each) x2, hand towel, two bath towels, 1L shampoo, 1L shower gel, toothbrushes x2, toothpaste tubes x3, 250 ml hand sanitizer, pair of gloves, a raincoat, an umbrella, 500 ml insect repellent spray, kitchen knives x5, one small pan, a pressure cooker, lighters x5, and matchbox bundles (10 each) x2, first aid box.
There is still some space so , she quickly looked around again — her carts were already very heavy , but she felt she was missing something.
Without hesitation, Lin Yue added a box of disposable masks (25 pcs), ready-to-eat meal packs x4, Flashlight x2 and golf stick.
"Grandpa's axe…" she muttered, suddenly remembering the small axe he had kept behind the cashier for safety. She grabbed it and tucked it into the cart.
Just then, that mechanical voice returned —
[Loading progress: 97%… 99%… 100%!]
[Welcome to the Highway Survival Game!]
The world turned dark for a brief moment, and when the darkness faded, Lin Yue found herself standing on a highway that seemed to stretch endlessly into the horizon.
The cold night air brushed against her skin as a faint white mist covered the road.
"The Highway Survival Game officially begins. All players, please prepare. Game instructions are as follows—"
A calm, emotionless voice echoed in her mind.
"First, all global players aged 18–55 will enter the Highway Survival Game. Every player's initial physical condition will be healthy, and all major diseases have been eliminated."
"Second, every player's initial supplies are: one vehicle, one personal wristwatch, and one novice supply box."
"Third, vehicles can only travel in one direction on the Road. They can be upgraded, decorated, but can't leave the Highway. Note: Please cherish your vehicle; it will be your best companion."
"Fourth, treasure chests are randomly scattered along the Highway. They come in five types — low-tier, mid-tier, high-tier, premium, and rare. Opening a chest may yield supplies for survival, but may also unleash unknown dangers. Open with caution."
"Fifth, please return to your vehicle immediately after dark. Unknown horrors lurk at night. The 10-meter radius around your vehicle is your temporary safe zone. Do not leave it casually at night."
"Sixth, disasters of varying degrees will refresh at any time in the game. The first seven days are the player protection period. Please use this time to upgrade your vehicle promptly to resist disasters."
"Seventh, each player can choose an initial vehicle as their means of transportation at the beginning of their survival journey. Choose carefully; it will have a profound impact on your future."
"Eighth, you can only travel atmost 50 meters in reverse or backtrack on the road. Further would be consider elimination. You must complete a certain number of kilometers each day. Normally, only one player will be on each road, but parallel highways will appear periodically, allowing encounters with other players. Sometimes, fellow players are more dangerous than monsters."
"Ninth, please obey traffic rules: stop at red lights and go at green lights. You may choose whether to enter different types of service areas."
"Tenth, during daytime hours (6:00 AM to 9:00 PM), drivers are prohibited from driving while fatigued. Players with health below 10 or fatigue above 90 will be forced to rest."
"Lastly, death in the game is real death. Do not take any chances. Fortune and misfortune are intertwined. I wish you luck , may you turn bad luck into good. Begin your journey! (^_-)"
Lin Yue exhaled softly, her hands still gripping the two shopping cart handles tightly.
"Thank goodness I managed to bring all of this," she murmured. "At least for the next few weeks, even if I'm unlucky, I won't starve …"
She calmly opened her player panel. Four cartoon-style vehicles appeared in front of her.
[Please make your choice first!]
Lin Yue's eyes scanned the options —
The first was a tractor. Strong but slow, high fuel consumption — she remembered her grandfather saying so.
The second was a red Ferrari — sleek and fast, but she didn't even know how to drive it.
The third was… a wheelchair. She skipped it without a thought.
And the last — a blue, un-covered electric tricycle used for countryside deliveries. It looked sturdy and safe, the kind of vehicle she'd seen in the town all her life.
Without hesitation, Lin Yue tapped on the electric tricycle.
An Easter egg suddenly popped up with a loud *bang!*
A real blue tricycle appeared in front of her. She carefully pushed her carts beside it and curiously inspected her new "vehicle."
Then, out of nowhere — a white, octopus-like creature jumped from the driver's seat!
Startled, Lin Yue instinctively swung her golf stick — the creature flew off and disappeared into the surrounding white mist with a shriek. The sound stopped abruptly.
She stood still for a few seconds, scanning the mist cautiously before finally letting out a breath of relief.
"Congratulations to player Lin Yue for achieving the first monster kill and earning a reward. Would you like to make a server-wide announcement?"
Lin Yue hesitated. "Can I announce anonymously or with a nickname?"
"Players may choose to remain anonymous, but the reward will be slightly lower. Alternatively, you may change your nickname once; the reward will remain the same."
"Then... I'll announce it — but wait! I need to change my nickname first."
"Received. Please proceed to your personal data panel."
Lin Yue opened the panel and almost choked on air when she saw her stats.
---
**[Player: Lin Yue, 19 years old]**
**ID:** Player 4521
**Nickname:** To be set
**Vehicle:** Brand new un-covered electric tricycle (Battery: 100%)
**Health:** 89 (System has healed all major diseases. Please work hard to improve your body.)
**Fatigue:** 9 (You've been too lazy for too long.)
**Defense:** 10 (A complete weakling.)
**Attack:** 15 (Do you even exercise?)
**Agility:** 13 (Even a 60-year-old grandma could outrun you.)
**Spirit:** 28 (Finally, something decent.)
**Supplies:** Two fully loaded shopping carts + one novice survival box.
Lin Yue stared blankly at the panel, lips twitching. "Great... I'm the weakest protagonist ever."
But at least — she was alive and healthy.
And for the first time in years, she didn't calm her heart beating strongly and excited.
The game had just begun.