Survival of the Poorest

The airport was strangely quiet that day, because not a single flight got delayed. I guessed the system had finally patched whatever loophole I had been exploiting.

All day, I wandered around like a regular traveler, drifting through every shop that offered free samples.

Of course, I ate without buying anything. I watched the staff's faces as I sampled my way through the counters. Once they realized I was only eating and not purchasing, I slipped away immediately.

That was how I got through the entire day.

I used my last meal voucher for dinner, and it replenished my hunger bar. However, my energy level dropped even lower that day, so I refused to sleep in a chair. Instead, I slipped into a dim service corridor and headed for the little treasure I found earlier: an old maintenance room with its door barely closed.

The place was stuffed with junk, but once you shut the door, it became your own little hideaway.

I had just walked into the maintenance room and had not even closed the door all the way when a loud bang echoed through the room.

Someone had kicked the door open.

A tall guy walked in, with two punk-looking dudes trailing behind him.

I shrank back a little, scared.

The tall guy shouted, "Get out. This spot is ours!"

I recognized him. Yesterday at the bakery, he had snatched bread the most aggressively. He even grabbed two loaves straight out of another player's hands.

Knowing I was no match for him, I decided to give up this prime real estate. Just as I reached the doorway of the equipment room, the tall guy suddenly pulled out a knife and pressed it against my throat.

"Hand over whatever money you've got left, and any food too. Or I'll gut you."

The crazed cruelty in their eyes told me they would absolutely do it.

My brain went into overdrive: Fighting back was pointless, and giving up my money meant instant elimination and a million-dollar debt.

'What do I do? What do I do?'

I swallowed hard and said, "Look, let's talk this out. Robbery will get you eliminated by the system."

"Shut up! Hurry it up. I'm running out of patience," he snapped, pushing the blade closer.

I gave up resisting and quickly transferred the 50 dollars in my account to him. After all, only by staying alive in the game did I have any chance of earning that million.

After getting the money, the tall guy shoved me out.

They slammed the door shut, and I heard them laughing inside. "Robbing people totally works. We really have to thank that person for telling us the system doesn't eliminate you for taking players' cash. Now we don't ever have to worry about money again."

Who was this 'person' they were talking about?

You could not rob NPCs, but you could rob or even kill players. Someone clearly knew the rules inside out. This was only the second day, and I had already lost my only 50 dollars.

With no money and no food, was I seriously going to starve to death?

Before long, someone posted anonymously on the game's public chat.

[The 24-hour convenience store in Departure Level B has crackers on sale.]

The equipment room door opened, and the tall guy walked out with his lackeys. I quickly hid to the side and tailed them toward the convenience store.

All three of them used the stolen money to buy crackers.

As the payment confirmation chimed, the system broadcast across the game.

[Players 5, 49, and 61 have been eliminated for overspending. Debt: one million dollars.]

The tall guy wailed, "But that was the money I stole! How is that overspending–"

Before he could finish, he vanished like a flash of light. The other two punks disappeared right after him.

Dozens of bags of crackers and four bags of bread thudded onto the floor. I sprinted over and pulled off my jacket, wrapping all the crackers and bread tightly.

My guess had been right: the system had stated at the start that overspending meant elimination, but each player only had 50 dollars in their account. There was no way anyone could overspend without cheating the limit.

There was only one possibility: if you stole money from other players and spent more than 50 dollars, that counted as overspending.