Chapter 11: The Survivor Who Launched a Sneak Attack

“Damn, none of them hit!”
A rough voice came from the nearby grass.
“Get down!”
Chen Fan shouted, instantly throwing Yang Keli to the ground.

Immediately, another arrow whizzed by, thudding heavily as it embedded itself straight into a tree trunk beside them, the shaft trembling slightly.

Chen Fan hurriedly pulled Yang Keli behind the tree, peering cautiously through the gap in the bark toward the direction the arrows came from.

“They’re over there!”
Someone spotted Chen Fan and the others hiding behind the tree, drawing the bow and sending several arrows hurtling their way, all landing mere centimeters from where they crouched.

“Keli, when the time comes, we’ll strike from both sides and catch them off guard!”
“Got it!”

Fear had faded—the sudden enemies were now only a dozen steps away; retreat was impossible.

As five figures closed in, their arrows aimed directly at them, Chen Fan roared, “Take this!”

With a simultaneous move, Chen Fan and Yang Keli stepped out from behind the tree, hurling their iron axes in a swift arc.

The two axes spun midair, thudding sharply as they struck the foreheads of the two closest attackers. The assailants groaned, collapsing heavily backward.

At the same moment, their bodies dissolved into points of white light, vanishing into thin air, their belongings dropping to the ground.

“What?”
The remaining three were instantly stunned.

One bald man bellowed, “Shoot them!”

As the two drew their bows, Chen Fan gripped his iron sword, charging recklessly toward the enemies.

From a bird’s-eye view, Chen Fan’s move seemed suicidal, charging straight into the flying arrows.

Yet as the enemy released their shots, Chen Fan’s hand twitched, and two wooden blocks suddenly sprang upright.

Indeed, he was using blocks as shields in the heat of battle—an approach he’d learned from fighting skeletons in Minecraft. It blocked incoming arrows and offered a surprise advantage.

Before they could react, Chen Fan slipped behind the wooden pillars and swung his iron sword down.

The man’s head rolled on the ground like a ball.

The hunter became the hunted in an instant, and the last youth fled in terror.

Chen Fan paid no attention, picking up the bow and arrow from the ground, nocking another arrow and firing at the bald man battling Yang Keli.

The fleeing youth, hearing the noise behind him, quickened his pace, as if wishing for extra legs.

After dispatching the bald man, Chen Fan loaded another arrow, raising his arm slightly to judge the trajectory, aiming at the youth’s thigh.

With a whizz, the arrow arced perfectly and struck the youth’s thigh precisely.

“Ah!”
The youth groaned, collapsing face-first onto the ground.

Yang Keli stared at Chen Fan in disbelief—how had he done that?

Only after it was all over did Chen Fan realize he had just killed two people in a row, a trace of fear stirring within him.

But the thought of nearly being killed himself swept that fear away.

Had his strength been weaker, he might have already met his ancestor.

Judging by their clothing, they were clearly not natives of this land.

Their garments, like Chen Fan’s, were products of Blue Star.

Chen Fan glanced at the items scattered on the ground—a leather jacket, some raw wood, and dozens of arrows among them.

He gathered everything into his inventory, then shot Yang Keli a glance before striding forward.

Meanwhile, the wounded youth clutched his bleeding thigh, wailing in pain and dragging himself forward, leaving a trail of blood.

Chen Fan and Yang Keli approached, the youth’s eyes wide with terror, filled with despair and pleading.

“Don’t… don’t kill me!” he stammered, his voice shaking.

“Did you enjoy shooting at us just now?” Chen Fan pressed his foot down on the youth’s knee, causing him to faint from the pain. “Tell me, why did you attack us…”

Watching the youth lose consciousness, Chen Fan activated his interface and checked his inventory. He recalled that among the items taken from the attackers was a bucket.

He moved the bucket to the quick access bar and poured a bucket of icy water over the youth, instantly reviving him.

As the bucket emptied, the water quickly soaked into the dirt, not lingering on the ground like in the game.

He had experimented with river water before and found that water vanished upon hitting the earth but remained stable within a grid space.

So far, everything was much like Minecraft, except for some settings—the fundamentals remained unchanged.

The youth, who had fainted from pain, slowly regained consciousness.

Opening his eyes and seeing Chen Fan and Yang Keli, he was so frightened he nearly lost his soul, begging desperately, “B-brother, spare me! I won’t dare again!”

Chen Fan placed his sword against the youth’s throat, his tone icy. “Tell me, why did you ambush us?”

The youth stammered, “W-we were just too hungry… trying to steal your food. This world is terrifying. After the flood, everything’s gone. We had no choice but to take what we could.”

Chen Fan frowned, a complicated feeling stirring inside him.

He understood the pressures of survival in this harsh world could drive people to extremes, but they could not be attacked at will.

“How many of you are there? Any others nearby?” Chen Fan pressed.

The youth shook his head frantically, “Just… just us… go to hell!”

Suddenly, the youth pulled a stone sword from behind and lunged at Chen Fan’s abdomen.

“Ha!” Chen Fan flicked the stone sword aside with his own blade and stomped hard on the youth’s knee again, delivering a second crushing blow.

“Ah!” the youth cried out in pain.

“I was going to make this quick, but you’ll get to enjoy the feeling of poisoning,” Chen Fan said, pulling out some rotten flesh. “Here, brother’s got a treat for you!”

The youth knew what it was. When they had nothing else to eat, they survived on this foul meat.

Eating it left a bitter taste and worsened hunger, a terrible ordeal.

The youth’s injuries were worsening; his fullness was dropping steadily, especially his thirst—only one point left. Soon, it would reach zero.

If he ate this now, death was certain.

The youth struggled furiously, attempting to escape.

“Whether you want it or not, you’ll eat this!”

Chen Fan pressed down on the youth’s other hand, forcing the rotten flesh into his mouth. The youth resisted, refusing to open his mouth.

Yang Keli kicked the youth’s stomach hard, making him cry out and open his mouth. Chen Fan seized the chance and shoved the flesh inside.

In the struggle, the youth accidentally swallowed it.

His pupils dilated wildly; within seconds, his skin turned green. Soon after, he vomited green blood and died the next moment.

“Pfft! With guts like that, you still dare to rob others. What a useless teammate!”

Yang Keli laughed. “Chen Fan, that block trick you used to block the arrows was amazing! How did you come up with it?”

Chen Fan smiled. “Experience from playing Minecraft. Didn’t expect it to come in handy here.”

“You thought of that too?” Yang Keli stood on tiptoe, eyes full of admiration for Chen Fan.