Chapter 11: Space ring

Han Kexin, Jiang Xiaowen, and Jin Shi distributed the remaining candies and chocolates evenly. Everyone had eaten some fruit not long ago, so they were not that much hungry. They gradually calmed down, slowly adapting to their current predicament. Though now that there were chocolates and candies to eat, everyone felt a bit happy, as they ran to receive this unexpected surprise.

Each person could receive a small piece of chocolate and some candies, and those who have contributed to the group would receive more. The food that everyone could afford in normal times has become a rare delicacy in the world at this moment. Especially chocolate, which was a high-calorie type of food; if someone felt hungry, a small piece was enough to restore their energy. 

Wang Chao stood on a higher stone with a short spear in his hand and shouted loudly: “Those are valuable supplies that Xiao Yu worked hard to bring back for everyone. Because the amount is limited, everyone can have his share, but you are not allowed to steal from each other. Everyone keeps an eye on out; if a thief is found, drive him out of here and send him to the wilderness to fend for himself!”

Some people caused problems during the day, but these kinds of people were easily fixed by Wang Chao, and they quieted down. Unknowingly, Wang Chao established an image of a fierce law enforcement officer among the crowd; as a result, no one dared to mess around. Han Kexin, Jin Shi, and Jiang Xiaowen have also been tacitly accepted as the group leaders by everyone here. Xiao Yu didn’t have much contact with everybody, these four high-level figures did obey him, and that was enough. He was also focused on gaining power and didn’t want to be distracted by minor matters.

Jiang Xiaowen was a bit upset because of the incident today, but when everyone got their chocolates and candies, a long-lost smile returned to her face, and she felt quite at ease and content in her heart. She had no idea that in this dreadful environment, she could yet view such a serene sight.

At that moment, a couple walked right past her, a pair of a guy and a girl that didn’t stand out much.

“Xiaoli, have you received anything? This is dove chocolate!”

“Oh, I’ve already eaten it.”

The boy smiled and said, “Don’t you like chocolate the most? I’ll give you mine.”

The girl was very moved, but she immediately refused, “No, you only have this one.”

“I don’t like to eat sweet food. If you don’t want it, I will give it to someone else.”

“You…”

“Okay, stop the act; take it! Have you heard of that person named Xiao Yu? He’s from the ninth class of second grade. He is incredible; we wouldn’t have survived if not for him; he even went back to school and returned with so much food. Hopefully, if we spend the rest of our lives following him, we can always be together. “

“Yeah, we’ll be together forever!” after these words, they held their hands tightly together.

Jiang Xiaowen was, after all, a girl with a sensitive and kind heart. This warm scene moved her deeply, and she admired Xiao Yu even more, and at the same time, she felt a twinge of regret and self-blame. In the beginning, Xiao Yu pursued her for so many years, yet she always ignored him. At that time, he must have felt sad and heartbroken.

“If I had known that he was such a good person, I wouldn’t…” Jiang Xiaowen held her beautiful little face with her hands as her bright eyes flickered, her expression was a little gloomy, and she sighed quietly, “Sigh, his attitude toward me has suddenly changed a lot. Does he not like me anymore? Or does he only think of me as a beautiful girl… No, I don’t want to be a mere vase. Like Teacher Han, I can share a lot of his burdens! I must work hard!”

Jiang Xiaowen clenched her fists, her eyes full of fighting spirit.

Xiao Yu was sitting in a separate small cavern. He finished eating a piece of compressed biscuit and was getting ready to rest when Han Kexin suddenly ran to him in a hurry, “Xiao Yu, come here quickly; something happened!”

Xiao Yu was startled, “What happened again?”

Han Kexin stroked her glasses and said with a smile: “hah, look at you worrying. It’s not a bad thing; actually, it’s something good!”

Xiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief, “What happened then?”

“When I led a group of people to clear the dry skeletons in one tunnel, a student accidentally found a piece of equipment, but we didn’t take it. It’s still there waiting for you to make a decision!”

Xiao Yu was taken aback, “Those low-level useless bones can also give out useful stuff? Okay, take me to see it!”

Han Kexin led Xiao Yu to a long passage. There were broken bones everywhere along the way. After walking for a long time, a group of people suddenly appeared in front of them. They were discussing something; however, upon Han Kexin’s arrival, they all stepped aside one after another with respectful expressions on their faces. It can be seen that Han Kexin’s status among the group was very high.

Xiao Yu found a gray ball of light on the ground, and his eyes lit up, “you were right!” He stepped forward to pick up the ball of light. The light gradually dissipated, and a simple ring appeared in his palm.

Accessory items were extremely scarce, and generally, all had some special use.

Han Kexin felt a bit eager but was also a bit proud. After all, the item was gained under her supervision, so no matter what, some credit still goes to her.

Xiao Yu put the ring on his finger. At this time, a message flashed in his mind, and he blurted out: “space ring, low gray item. There is about one cubic meter of space inside it, which can be used to store objects, but it cannot hold a living creature. It’s really good; the ring is very precious. Although its grade is low and the storage space is small, it is a great treasure for now!”

He took out the withered bone blade from his back and concentrated on it. Suddenly, the blade shrunk in size rapidly, and after four to five seconds, it turned into wisps of light, sucked inside the magical ring. And then, right after, the ring shimmered again, and four to five seconds passed before his weapon reappeared again in his hands.

Han Kexin opened her eyes wide in shock and said, “This is amazing!”

Xiao Yu took off the ring and asked, “Excuse me, who got this?”

At this time, a chubby man with short hair and a rather ordinary face, not tall but very friendly, came out and said, “It’s me; my name is Du Tao.”

Du Tao?

Wasn’t he the president of the school’s students committee?

Xiao Yu’s expression changed slightly, and he sized him carefully. Du Tao was also considered a rare talent in his previous life. He wasn’t very strong, but he had great management skills. He was under the authority of a powerful human comparable to “Bloody Queen” Han Kexin at the time. Tens of thousands of people in the stronghold were controlled by a single person. Most were pleased with a clear division of duty. If People before compared their leader to an unrivaled king, Du Tao was compared to a virtuous prime minister.

Unfortunately, Du Tao lost his life when he once left the stronghold. The powerful man was so desperate to find the killer that he caused mayhem throughout the city, frightening everyone. And yet shortly after that incident, disagreements, divisions, and even internal strife emerged within the army. The forces under the commander ultimately collapsed due to a murderous conspiracy.

Xiao Yu looked at Du Tao carefully and said casually: “You got this ring, so it belongs to you.”

Du Tao hurriedly said: “No, no. I was lucky enough to kill the skeleton to gain some strength. It was all under the care of you and Teacher Han. How dare I take it? Please accept it!”

Sure enough, he was an intelligent guy.

Xiao Yu nodded and said to Han Kexin: “Du Tao used to be the student committee president. He was efficient and very well-received by teachers and classmates in school. Most of the students know him, and he possesses a certain prestige. If he agrees, arrange it so that he will be responsible for our logistics. This way, you can reduce a lot of our burden.”

Han Kexin turned and asked him: “Du Tao, what do you think?”

Du Tao had a long-standing suspicion that Xiao Yu was the actual boss. He was obviously thrilled that he was going to be promoted, and he agreed as soon as he raised his head:” This is something I excel at. I’ll certainly build a fair management system and handle everything efficiently; you will not be disappointed!”

“I believe you can do a good job.” Xiao Yu patted Du Tao’s shoulder, “Go and kill a few more skeletons. As our logistics manager, how can you convince the people if you don’t have the strength?”

Du Tao was ecstatic and immediately expressed his gratitude: “Thank you!”

The space ring was an unexpected harvest. The thing in his hands will be of great use in the future. With a space of more than one cubic meter, it was enough to hold a lot of things.

Early the next morning, the group used ropes to attach the knives that Xiao Yu had brought back from the store to several long wooden poles, as they made more than forty simple makeshift spears so that most could have weapons to use. Xiao Yu handed over logistics management and weapon arrangements to Du Tao. The latter did really put his heart into it. With his photographic memory, he could match every name to a person just by memorizing it once.

Du Tao quickly drew up a prototype plan based on their current situation and handed it over to Xiao Yu. He segregated several living spaces in his layout, including residential sections, restrooms, and even gathering spaces. Everyone had a job to complete, and there was work to be done every day. Examples of work include creating tools, harvesting fruit, patrolling, and hunting. He compiled batches of people in several hunting lists. He considered a wide range of aspects, and everything seemed quite reasonable.

Xiao Yu was very satisfied, “Very good; feel free to come to me if you have any problems.”

Du Tao hesitated for a while, then suddenly said, “I have another proposal.”

“Just say it.”

Du Tao continued: “Now everyone’s fighting power is still weak; most haven’t fully adapted to our environment. Moreover, according to your division of strength levels, most of us may not have even reached the zero-order level. Therefore, there is a greater risk in going out to hunt monsters, so I think it best that you, and Teacher Han, Jiang Xiaowen, Jin Shi, and Wang Chao, take turns and lead the team once or twice so that the safety factor will be greatly increased. Like this, the students can adapt to the environment swiftly.”

Xiao Yu frowned slightly and said, “My strength has surpassed everyone’s by a large margin, and I am not suitable to lead people with no fighting experience. So instead, these kinds of people will be handed over to Miss Han and the others as they take turns leading them, and I will be responsible for leading the four others, including Miss Han, or other future elites, so as to improve the fighting power of everyone simultaneously.”

Du Tao slapped his forehead and said, “Yes, Why didn’t I think of that? It would be more efficient that way.”

Xiao Yu said: “Leave this matter for now… Today I will take a group of people to a certain place; you continue your work according to the arrangement on the plan. After we come back this time, Miss Han’s strength should increase greatly. It won’t be too late to make specific arrangements for the hunting plan.”

Du Tao nodded and said: “Okay, just go ahead; I will take care of the organization here; I promise that you will not have any worries.”

Xiao Yu said with satisfaction: “I believe you can do it.”

Du Tao couldn’t help but feel a little moved. After all, he and Xiao Yu had never met before. Not only did he give him such an important position, but he took all the other four trusted elites away with him, showing just how much he trusted him. As the saying goes, ‘don’t employ suspicious people, and don’t suspect employed people’. This action of Xiao Yu was enough for Du Tao to be recognized as the highest authority in the hearts of everyone.

Not long after, Wang Chao, Jin Shi, Han Kexin, and Jiang Xiaowen, each holding a goblin short spear, a fruit knife, and a wooden club led by Xiao Yu, left the underground cave. There was no trace of the corpses left from last night, and everyone’s expressions turned a little weird. After leaving the cave, Xiao Yu led them out and started walking in a certain direction.

After approximately forty minutes of walking, the forest in front of them suddenly thinned out, and the dirt on the ground turned black, surprising everyone.

Wang Chao couldn’t hold back his thoughts and asked loudly, “What’s going on? Why’s the soil here black?”

Han Kexin bent down and squeezed some soil in her hands, and carefully identified the substance. Then, with surprise in her voice, she exclaimed, “This is… coal?”

Xiao Yu nodded and said: “There is a coal mine across this area where there are numerous tools we require. Be attentive; the mine is dangerous; if you are not careful, you could die!”