52: Chapter 52 Revisiting the Forest of Light

"A fun place?" Fatty looked puzzled, subconsciously scratching his round belly, his heart full of curiosity.

In this other world, apart from the survival Fortress, there was only the dry, barren land. He couldn't even see a river or a green leaf; where could there possibly be a fun place?

"Could Brother Ze be taking me to find some girls?"

Just as he was about to ask, he looked up and realized Chen Ze had already walked quite a distance away.

"Hey! Brother Ze, slow down! Wait for me!"

Fatty quickly put his thoughts aside and hurried after him, his round belly wobbling with every step.

"I say, Fatty, haven't you barely eaten anything these past few days? How are you still so fat?" Chen Ze asked.

"Oh, Brother Ze, that's just my constitution. I gain weight even from drinking cold water; there's nothing I can do about it."

Seeming to feel he had lost face in front of his boss, Fatty paused and continued, "But don't let my size fool you, buddy isn't weak. I used to work as a bouncer!"

"What? You have that kind of skill?" Chen Ze was genuinely surprised. He really hadn't been able to tell that Fatty was a legit tough guy.

"Which nightclub did you work at?"

"Huh? That... it wasn't a nightclub, but there were plenty of people. Dozens of tables would come in every day!"

Fatty chuckled, keeping him in suspense and whetting Chen Ze's appetite.

Chen Ze became even more curious and glanced at him. "Not a nightclub, but full tables every day? A restaurant?"

"Hehe, it's a food stall! My uncle runs it, and I worked the floor for him! As long as I was there, those punks and little girls wouldn't dare skip out on the bill!"

Well, no wonder he was so fat. Turns out his family owned a restaurant—mystery solved.

"What are your three-dimensional stats at now?" Chen Ze asked.

"Strength 8, Agility 5, Constitution 8! And that's not even counting the bonuses you gave me, Boss. Isn't that pretty good?" Fatty patted his chest and said with a grin.

"Hmm, compared to an average person, it's considered excellent, but it's still not enough." As Chen Ze spoke, he took three bright red fruits from his system space and handed them to him.

"These are E-rank tomatoes. If you eat them all, you can increase all your stats by 6 points. In case something special happens later, you'll have a bit more ability to protect yourself."

e-rank tomato? Holy crap! Food with a rank!

Fatty didn't even hear the rest of what he said; his eyes were glued to the three bright red, faintly spiritual E-rank tomatoes in Chen Ze's palm, and he was completely stunned.

What had he been eating since arriving in this apocalypse? Hard, dry steamed buns, watered-down instant noodle soup, leftovers saved by Brother Lu—he hadn't tasted a single bite of decent, fresh food. He had never seen such rare food before.

"Three of them? All for me?" Fatty took the three bright red fruits with both hands, feeling his hands tremble. "Brother Ze, this... this is too valuable!"

"If I give them to you, eat them. Don't act like a woman, dawdling about." Chen Ze paused, looked at Fatty, and continued, "But I'll say the ugly words first: I don't keep dead weight in my team. Giving you these resources today is to help you get stronger quickly and become my helper."

"If you rely on the fact that we used a contract scroll together to slack off or be lazy, then I won't be able to keep you here."

Chen Ze's words were a mix of kindness and severity, balanced and fair. He showed both the generosity to lift up his brothers and the absolute bottom line required to lead a team.

Fatty's heart instantly tightened. The joy on his face vanished completely. He quickly stood up straight, holding the fruits in both hands, not daring to move, his expression incredibly serious.

"Brother Ze, rest assured, I, Wang Dun, am definitely not the ungrateful type. You helped me pay off my debts and gave me such precious treasures; I will remember this forever and will definitely work hard in the future!"

A smile returned to Chen Ze's face, and he nodded. "Good, remember what you said today!"

The two continued on their way, heading straight for the Light Curtain Forest. Today was the last day of the rookie protection period.

Once midnight passed, the safe Light Barrier across the entire rookie area would completely dissipate.

By then, the mutated animals that had been trapped in the Light Curtain Forest and restricted by the rules from venturing out would inevitably become restless and spread in large numbers toward the residential areas where humans were gathered. Entering that forest would likely become even more difficult.

Fatty had eaten the three E-rank tomatoes, and his Strength and Constitution stats had skyrocketed. With Chen Ze's ten percent bonus to all stats, his current stats had reached 17, 14, and 17.

These stats weren't top-tier at this stage, but they definitely belonged to the upper echelon of survivors. With these, he had some ability to protect himself while entering the Light Curtain Forest with him.

About an hour later, the two had completely walked out of the range of human survivor activity. In their field of vision, they could no longer see any Fortress, residential houses, or signs of living people.

Everywhere they looked, the land was cracked and parched, covered in dense fissures like scars that had been dried up for years. It was desolate, deathly silent, and devoid of any sign of life.

"Brother Ze, is that place you mentioned still far?"

Fatty's weight was a factor; even though his overall stats had been enhanced, traveling in nearly 40-degree heat was still quite strenuous.

By now, he was soaked in sweat, his loose, floral-patterned shorts sticking tightly to his skin, and sweat was dripping down from his forehead.

"It should be around here." Chen Ze stopped and checked the mysterious beast hide, discovering that scattered small yellow dots were already beginning to appear within the detection range; those were all mutated animals.

This indicated that they were indeed extremely close to the Light Barrier. He tentatively continued walking forward, and sure enough, not far away, the system's notification sound triggered.

[Ding! Ahead is a high-risk area: Light Curtain Forest.] [Remaining area opening time: 9 hours and 28 minutes.] [If you enter by force, the survivor's current probability of death is high. Are you sure you want to enter?]

It was still the familiar mechanical system prompt, but this time, the danger rating had quietly changed; the probability of death had gone from "very high" to "high."

"We've arrived, it's right here!" Chen Ze took out some food and water and handed them to Fatty, continuing, "Eat something to replenish your stamina!"

"Once we enter the forest area, danger could be lurking everywhere. You must follow me closely and try your best not to make any noise."

Upon hearing this, Fatty's expression immediately turned serious. Although he had never stepped foot into the Light Curtain Forest, he knew clearly in his heart that if it could make Chen Ze, who had already promoted to level two and whose strength far exceeded ordinary survivors, this cautious and nervous, it was proof enough of the danger within.

"Understood, Brother Ze! Once we enter the forest, I promise not to even make a peep!"