Chapter 7

[Attention, classmates. Starting today, I will be taking on all kinds of private jobs within the class from Monday to Friday during school hours, including but not limited to: on-campus errand-running and purchasing, off-campus errand-running and purchasing, copying homework, lending books/workbooks/test papers, taking your turn on classroom duty, helping with cleaning…… If there’s anything you need, feel free to contact me. Affordable prices, reliable service. Thank you, everyone. /[Victory]]

Qi Li didn’t forget to post an advertisement in the class group chat.

As the saying went, even the smallest mosquito still had meat on it. During the time she was trapped inside the school gates, she could only rely on this group of potential customers.

Although the message Qi Li sent quickly drew a wave of teasing in the group:

[666]
[@Qi Li: Reborn—From Poorest to Richest on Campus]
[Our class has its own service industry now, huh?]
[Hahahahaha, there’s actually an advertisement.]
[@Qi Li Girl, there’s really no need to go this far, seriously. /[Laughing Crying]]
[@Qi Li Are you trying to become a business tycoon? /[Doge]]

At first, Qi Li didn’t understand what they found so funny.

Then she thought about it and realized that school was an ivory tower where these kids hadn’t yet been forced to face the pressures of survival.

In an environment where everyone stood on equal footing, no one had ever thought of themselves as being beneath anyone else. Qi Li’s sudden posture as someone offering services made her seem jarringly out of place.

Gradually, Qi Li went from confusion, to understanding, and finally to a relieved sense of reassurance.

Actually, this was pretty good. Judging from the way these classmates joked around in the group, at least it showed that their family circumstances weren’t bad.

Qi Li desperately hoped the more pocket money her classmates had, the better.

If, on the other hand, this were a group of poor kids who could all understand exactly where she was coming from, that would be the truly terrible situation.

Qi Li directly replied to the message saying “Our class has its own service industry now, huh?”: [Yes.]

She needed her classmates to know she was serious. She really did need to make some money.

Things like pride weren’t important at all.

Qi Li didn’t have time to read the casual chatter that followed in the class group.

She frantically searched online for terms like “Walled City and Survivors strategy guide,” “Walled City and Survivors beginner guide,” “Walled City and Survivors best supply combinations,” and “Walled City and Survivors best-value items,” studying discussions from other players online.

Because Qi Li had discovered that Walled City and Survivors was actually a fairly niche single-player game, ​unauthorized copy​but one with quite a lot of discussion surrounding it.

There were other players in this world who played it on their phones.

Of course, she wasn’t an ordinary “player,” and the way she participated in the game was clearly different from the netizens making those posts.

But the overall setting of their games and the items available in the shop were the same as hers.

Qi Li studied the posts for experience.

[Original Post: What do I do if I got scratched by an infected the first time I went out looking for supplies?
The Sanity meter above my character keeps dropping, and my character has already started showing signs of mutation. Their skin is turning green……]

[2F: Did you reroll your starting point? A good start won’t have you running into infected the very first time you go out. Did you spawn in the slums or something? Normally you don’t start playing until you roll something like a spawn point near the City Defense Department, a safety zone rated above 85, a wealthy family, or an official’s family. If you roll an ordinary household, just delete the save and restart. Otherwise, your first few weeks will be hell difficulty.]

[3F: 2F is right. At the start of this game, zombies are way stronger than humans. You absolutely have to save-load repeatedly until you get a good spawn point before playing. Starting as an ordinary person gives you basically no gameplay experience at all. If OP walked outside and immediately met zombies, that means you spawned in the slums. Delete the save and restart.]

[4F: I was exactly like you when I was a newbie /[Laughing Tears]. I didn’t know how important your starting background was. If you’re emotionally attached to this save, recharge 198 and buy an antidote. After the injection, you can keep playing. Of course, personally I don’t think it’s worth it. Restarting is better. Search for an SL starting guide. Housing, connections, supplies, genetics, and talents—you want at least four of those five to be above the passing line.]

[5F: I am going to tell you this in the most straightforward, direct, no-nonsense, objective, correct, systematic, truthful, concise, easy-to-understand, non-clickbait way possible: your save has a terrible start. Stop playing it. Restart.]

……

The screen full of pessimistic comments and demands to restart stabbed into Qi Li’s eyes. Expressionlessly, she backed out of the post.

That thread obviously didn’t apply to her and wasn’t useful.

She had no opportunity to restart, nor did she have any choice over what kind of starting point she got.

In that case……

Qi Li’s thoughts shifted, and she entered a new search term: Walled City and Survivors difficult-start strategy guide.

A good strategy guide had to suit the actual circumstances!

[Original Post: “Challenge: No Rerolling! Play Whatever Start You Get and Survive 365 Days with Every Possible Identity!”]

Qi Li hurriedly opened the video guide.

The scrolling comments and top-rated replies practically summarized all the useful parts of the video.

[Streamer has serious skills. Your keyboard must’ve been smoking during those sequences where you killed zombies with a knife. Normal players seriously can’t learn this. You deserve to make a living doing this! /[Laughing Crying]]

[Trust me, do NOT copy this streamer and go outside with just a little knife on a doomed start. This streamer is a retired professional esports player. A normal person’s movement awareness, reactions, and hand speed can’t keep up with his. If you insist on playing a doomed start, prepare some money. Your early-game weapon should at least be a saber. If you’re willing to spend more, buy a crossbow.]

[Streamer, ever since I watched your video and tried the knife build, I’ve done ten random starts and got infected on the first day nine times. /[Dazed]]

Qi Li continued studying the replies further down the thread.

[The margin for error with the knife build is basically 0.01%. Don’t touch it unless you’re a natural-born monster. If your character has high base stamina, you can buy a spiked club. If your agility is high, buy a crossbow. If you’re personally very patient and willing to grind, you can use combinations of trap items.]

[@xxxxx: All that talk still isn’t as useful as one saber. The one true king of cost-effectiveness that doesn’t care about your spawn or stats.]

[I knew it. Every time there’s a beginner-guide thread like this, there are always brainless saber fanboys underneath.]

[People still hate on sabers? They’re universally recognized as the most beginner-friendly weapon for budget players, okay? Some people trash-talk them online, ​bailiantales.com​then the second they enter Challenge Mode, they’re using a saber more smoothly than anyone else.]

……

Qi Li watched a bunch of powder-keg netizens argue for hundreds of replies over whether “the saber was truly the best starting weapon,” lost in thought.

She exited the video and searched again: Walled City and Survivors saber.

[Video: “Testing the Ten Most Classic Starting Weapons—And the Most Surprisingly Powerful One Turns Out to Be Something No One Expected—”]

Sigh. Qi Li didn’t have time for videos that dragged out the reveal. Fortunately, a helpful netizen had summarized it below: [Short version: 1. If you have time but no money, buy the Kevlar rope net. 2. Rich players should just get the Sandshadow Dual Pistols. 3. Budget players and experienced players should still use the saber.]

[What year is it? People are still saying 98 yuan for a saber is expensive? The crystal coins you can earn with that 98-yuan saber are enough to buy several hundred yuan’s worth of supplies.]

[Newbie question: I’ve read several posts, and they all say you should carry a saber when leaving home on a normal start. Is the saber really that good?
—2026.5.28 Update: Somehow I’ve already been playing for three months. Came back to tell you all: the saber really is the god-tier weapon for budget players. One saber is enough to deal with ordinary zombies in the early game. Just pay attention to your positioning.]

Qi Li saw that many accounts had also uploaded first-person videos of themselves fighting and killing infected with a “saber.”

The BGM was extremely hot-blooded and exciting, even carrying a rhythmic sense of exhilaration. The infected had also been bailiantales.com visually polished, so they didn’t look nearly as frightening as they did in person.

Playing through a screen was one thing. The reality Qi Li had to consider was—

She was going back to meet zombies offline.

When she truly had to face a zombie head-on, even if she had a weapon in her hands, whether her arms would go weak from fear was another matter entirely.

Everyone had to take the first step eventually…… Maybe she should try?

Qi Li pressed her palm against her chest, as though she could feel the furious pounding of her heart protesting inside.

She didn’t have any opportunity to restart. If she lost her one life, it was game over.

Maybe she should just buy food and daily necessities, take them home, and lock all the doors and windows.

Qi Li put down her phone, pressed both hands against her temples, closed her eyes, and slowly let out a long, cautious breath.

As her mind emptied, a line of text she’d just read suddenly loaded ​read the original at bailiantales.com​into her head like brainwashing.

The words transformed into glowing ribbons, spiraling around against a black backdrop, drifting in a hypnotic, weightless way, complete with their own voice-over—

“One saber is enough to deal with ordinary zombies in the early game!”
“One saber is enough to deal with ordinary zombies!”
“A saber is enough for ordinary zombies!”
“Enough for ordinary zombies!”
“Enough!”

The ethereal voice echoed around Qi Li’s ears.

It was a hallucination.

Qi Li hurriedly opened her eyes. It was a hallucination!

But then again.

If so many people said one saber was enough to deal with ordinary zombies, then why couldn’t she do exactly that?

Wasn’t the whole reason she’d searched for strategy guides to learn from other people’s experience?

After she went back this time, she would have to wait another two and a half days before she could transmigrate unauthorized copy again. She had to consider the problem that distant water couldn’t put out a nearby fire. Besides, the items in the game shop were streamlined essential items, nowhere near as varied as the goods available in the real world.

Qi Li wanted her family to have more crystal coins and to avoid ending up in situations where they couldn’t go outside. That way, whatever sudden need arose, they would have a chance to solve it in time.

“Maybe I’m the chosen one……”

Qi Li pressed the tip of her index finger against her lips and murmured to herself.

She’d already encountered something as extraordinary as transmigration. Maybe Heaven really was about to place a great responsibility upon her. What if she was actually the destined star chosen for greatness? Someone blessed with fate shouldn’t be that easy to kill, right?

The more she thought about it, the more confident she became. Her brows furrowed slightly in deep contemplation, and before she knew it, she was nodding in agreement with herself.

Qi Li’s thoughts grew increasingly clear, and she said inwardly,

“Fortune comes from taking risks. If I always choose an escape route first whenever something happens, it’ll be hard for me to have any prospects in the future. Our family seems to be what those players call a slum start…… If I don’t rise above everyone else, won’t my whole family end up exactly like what they describe as having ‘no gameplay experience at all’……”

“I’ll give it everything I’ve got. If not me, then who?”

Besides, even if Qi Li really did accidentally get injured by a zombie, as long as she could hold out for two and a half days without fully mutating, ​bailiantales.com​she’d still have a chance to transmigrate back here, earn money, and buy herself an antidote.

At that moment, Qi Li felt as though she’d suddenly attained enlightenment, realizing that from this moment onward, she was no longer the same person she’d been before.

She recharged 198 yuan into Walled City and Survivors, converting it into 1,980 Sun Points.

Purchased melee weapon “Saber,” costing 980 Sun Points.
Purchased trap item “Kevlar Rope Net,” costing 500 Sun Points.
Purchased the two-piece defensive equipment set “Cowhide Bracers” and “Cowhide Greaves,” costing 500 Sun Points.

[Saber: A long-handled, curved chopping weapon with a slender blade and an exceptionally sharp edge capable of cutting through the flesh of infected.
Damage: 15]

[Kevlar Rope Net: Made from costly, highly durable, impact-resistant high-performance specialty rope. Even the claws of infected cannot tear through it, making it a highly popular trap on the market.
Durability: 200]

[Cowhide Bracers: Lightweight and comfortable, with a certain degree of defensive capability.
Durability: 30]

[Cowhide Greaves: Lightweight and comfortable, with a certain degree of defensive capability.
Durability: 30]

After carefully calculating everything, she’d spent every last cent and completed her equipment setup perfectly.

Qi Li didn’t linger any longer. With unauthorized copy a single thought, she instinctively connected to the system in her mind that rarely ever spoke and teleported back to the apocalypse.