RHWHEG – Chapter 37 Escape (Part 1)

Snake is a classic old game where players control the direction of a blocky snake’s movement. When the snake eats food, its body grows longer. If it runs into a wall or collides with itself, it dies. The snake keeps expanding until the grid is completely filled.

In the system’s version of Snake, however, “other snakes” are treated as food. As long as one cuts them in half, the target will pixelate. On the other hand, if a snake of the same size collides with you, the game ends.

The definition of a “snake” here is rather loose—anything resembling one will do.

Yu Qunqing placed the pixelated snake on the ground. The flat little creature darted straight forward.

“I’ve only read about this kind of F-level calamity in the shelter’s archives. They live in rainforest areas. There’s no radiation on its body.” She Lulang stated matter-of-factly, his tone habitually cold but free of doubt. “I’ll wait for your explanation.”

Yu Qunqing replied, “Actually, it’s because of some supernatural force…”

She Lulang cut in, “We all have supernatural powers. Is this the effect of yours?”

He could understand. In his past life, Yu Qunqing’s powers always produced strange and unpredictable results, to the point the shelter had to deploy city-grade traps to capture him.

Yu Qunqing fell silent. It seemed he had brushed against some memory he didn’t want to recall. His mind, in self-protection, had built up a wall to cover it.

So, Yu Qunqing simply asked the system: “Are you my power?” Did he actually have two abilities? If so, then due to excessive radiation mutation, he should have automatically lost his human rights.

The system, just as direct, replied: “Of course not.”

System: “It’s the player who’s supplying me with energy! This system is very grateful for the player’s power!”

Yu Qunqing sensed something was off: “The reason I’ve never been able to level up is because of you.”

“Warning! Warning!” the system’s voice shifted speed. “The player’s beginner block snake is at risk of colliding with an ‘other snake’!”

Though there were still many questions left unanswered, survival was the most important thing right now. Yu Qunqing focused back on the little snake on the ground. It was only about the length of an arm and was about to run into a small but sturdier tree.

The little tree was bare, its brown trunk jutting out of the earth—broadly speaking, a “snake.”

Yu Qunqing quickly made it turn around. The block snake moved in a perfect right angle.

He snapped off a twig and tossed it in front of the snake.

The block snake transformed the twig into a pile of pixelated blocks. Yu Qunqing then directed it to turn back and consume all the pixel blocks. As a result, the snake grew a little larger.

Still, it seemed a bit far from evolving into something intimidating.

Yu Qunqing thought to himself that patience was needed—better to wait until these survivors started fighting among themselves. That was when the snake’s effect would be most useful.

He explained his plan to She Lulang. Suddenly, not far away, a black snake reared up, as tall as a two-story building, with the upper part resembling a humanoid torso. Blood seeped from all its orifices; it stood motionless like a stiffened blade of grass. Its massive serpent lower body clashed unnaturally with its human upper half, as if a worm had been embedded into a person.

The black snake had failed in evolving as an LV2 ability user, and in an instant, a brand-new G-level calamity was born.

It paused for a moment, then its body suddenly swayed left and right like a wave. With thunderous force, it swept away the surrounding buildings and people. Structures collapsed with a roar, rubble flying everywhere. Yu Qunqing directed his block snake to eat up the little stones, slowly growing larger bit by bit.

The black snake slithered onto the wide bicycle path of the Agricultural University, preparing to crawl up. Suddenly, a flock of black birds swooped down, knocking it over. The snake rolled once, sustaining little damage, but disoriented, it began grabbing and eating people in the area instead. The black birds vanished into the mountains.

She Lulang kept his eyes fixed on the area, making sure the black snake wouldn’t stray from their plan.

But protecting others… was never part of their plan.

Half of the Agricultural University students were ability users, but most were unfamiliar with how to wield their powers. They scattered in all directions. One student suddenly realized how to use his “absolute balance” power—he stepped onto the high wall and instantly ran like the wind.

The survivors from Shangyuan City only had a few disaster stones, nowhere near enough to sharpen weapons. Ordinary steel rods striking the snake’s body were like blows against an iron wall.

The buzz-cut young man also picked up a weapon to defend the campus. But when he saw his companions fall one after another, while the black snake remained unscathed, his hands trembled and his grip slipped. With a panicked shout, he turned and bolted toward the experimental fields. The Agricultural University’s crops—if he could grab some, he’d take them. Unlike these students who couldn’t abandon the place, he was willing to run far for survival.

In the Computing College, Fang Shanyu was some distance from the Literature College. She stood facing her mindless classmates, a struggle showing on her face. The sound of collapsing buildings drew ever closer. At last, she made a decision. She rushed forward to unlock all the chains binding the victims, then pushed them toward the main gate. Her petite figure looked like a mantis trying to stop a carriage against the swollen bodies.

She shoved the last person out the door. The regressed students staggered out of the Computing College.

“Run!” Fang Shanyu dashed out, shouting after them, “I’m running too… I won’t take care of you anymore…”

In the experimental fields, a few students were busy transferring the seedlings of important economic crops.

“Where’s Gu Tian? Where’s Yao Linlin?”

The crowd shouted the names of the two people in charge. “Have we decided which university we’re relocating to? Should we go to the normal university next door?”

“The teachers’ university doesn’t have storage facilities…”

“The Black Snake is blocking the way down—we can’t get out at all!”

Someone shouted anxiously, “If we scatter, someone will make it out alive. Last time that cat attacked, didn’t we escape by doing the same thing? At least some people will survive… and once the calamity leaves, we can return here and live safely again.”

By the end, the student’s voice broke. Everyone knew one thing clearly—the University City Shelter might no longer be safe. But should they leave? To abandon the place they had lived in for four months felt like a child bidding farewell to their mother.

“What’s all this noise about!” At last, Yao Linlin appeared, covered in branches and leaves—debris left behind when Lin Luyi pushed her up to safety. The moment people saw her, their hearts settled. They rushed to ask what to do next.

Yao Linlin declared, “There’s still one place with cultivation facilities. We’ll take over the Polytechnic across the road! I’m sure they have enough labs and equipment.”

Everyone froze, then praised her decisiveness. Although Yao Linlin was usually less likable than Gu Tian, in critical moments, people relied on her toughness. And besides, seizing the school across the street, though difficult, was easier to accept than abandoning the University Shelter altogether.

Someone asked, “Where’s Gu Tian?”

Yao Linlin’s face darkened with grief. “He said some discouraging things… and refused to leave.”

Trying to curry favor, the crowd quickly shifted sides, criticizing Gu Tian’s conservative mindset as unreliable—unable to even take a step when danger struck.

“If you have time to argue, use it to prepare for the transfer!” Yao Linlin snapped. But inside, she too was uneasy. She remembered Gu Tian’s parting words…

Would the Polytechnic really be safe?

Meanwhile, on Yu Qunqing’s side, the Block Snake had already grown into a three-meter-long pixelated python. The bigger it got, the more cartoonish its features appeared, like a 2D creation invading the 3D world.

The Black Snake surged toward them, and the blocky python still wasn’t strong enough to resist. Yu Qunqing commanded it to retreat, while he drew his compound bow and aimed at the Black Snake.

His arrows were specially modified—the tips coated with conductive metal powder, bound with sharp disaster stones to enhance penetration.

The arrow flew, slicing through swirling air currents. Glittering metallic dust scattered with the wind as it drilled into the Black Snake’s tough hide. A ring of high-voltage blue electricity burst from the wound like daylight fireworks. The giant serpent was thrown sideways by the impact.

The Black Snake writhed and flipped itself upright. Clearly, it hadn’t suffered a fatal injury. Compared to F-class, a G-class calamity wasn’t just larger—it had unique abilities. Raising its upper body high above the campus, the serpent slammed down with a rhythmic, wave-like motion of its massive coils.

The ground shook violently. Buildings tilted and collapsed. Students lost their footing.

Dodging a flying stone, Yu Qunqing thought grimly: this thing is uncontrollable—better to quickly feed it to his little snake.

She Lulang sidestepped another shard of debris. Meeting Yu Qunqing’s eyes, he transformed into a white egret and went searching for their teammates. He trusted their strength—if things had escalated this much, Lin Luyi’s group must have been delayed by something.

Yu Qunqing hefted his bow case and pressed forward alone.

The closer he got to the Black Snake, the stronger the tremors became. Cracks split the ground into jagged ravines. He passed a group of panicked students fleeing—clearly from the nearby medical university. President Qi spotted Yu Qunqing heading toward the calamity and froze, but then hurried on with the others.

Yu Qunqing ignored them. Steadying himself on the shaking earth, he pulled out a specially forged heavy arrow and a gem-like green disaster stone.

This stone, from the Tree Prison Wasp King, felt smooth and moist in his hand. He gently rubbed it against the arrow’s shaft, and the thick metal immediately heated. The arrowhead gleamed like diamond dust under sunlight. A few more strokes, and the steel retained its form, but the shifting light refracted red and green flashes that dazzled the eyes. In the air, the arrow would look like a weapon of magic.

Such was the power of a top-grade disaster stone. But even as he worked, the fist-sized stone was consumed, leaving a deep notch. The once-thick arrow had slimmed from the reaction, barely at the threshold of what could be fired.

Yu Qunqing calculated: if he could kill this Black Snake, half a G-class stone would earn him a whole G-class stone—definitely worth it.

At the moment when the Black Snake paused, he loosed the arrow. A chain-bound iron shaft seared its scales, pierced the purple flesh, burst through the far side, and nailed itself into an ancient stone stele.

The Black Snake’s abdomen was pinned by a slender chain.

Furious, it writhed violently. The thin chain nearly snapped, but just in time, another chained arrow speared in from the side, spilling a trail of blood.

Yu Qunqing’s bow case held more than arrows.

Sixteen iron chains crisscrossed through the serpent’s body. Like blades, they nailed the beast in place, leaving it helpless on the chopping block.

In agony, the Black Snake’s humanoid upper half suddenly came alive, bowing repeatedly to Yu Qunqing as if pleading for mercy.

But Yu Qunqing feared moral reproach the least. Emerging from the ruins, he gripped one chain. Blue lightning burst forth like divine punishment, reducing the serpent to fragments that rained down like bloody mist, leaving only a charred trunk behind.

He dug out the black disaster stone and strode away from the blood-soaked hell.

President Qi and the medical students, having failed to flee far, witnessed everything. They were splattered with gore, paralyzed as Yu Qunqing walked past them, each footstep pounding against their chests.

“I-Is it… over?”

They longed to celebrate survival but couldn’t even stand.

They didn’t know Yu Qunqing was already calling his Block Snake back.

Elsewhere, She Lulang finally discovered what had trapped their two elite teammates.

Lin Luyi, Sun Min, and Dong Changxin were locked in a fierce fight.

In the literal, physical sense.