When I was at my absolute poorest, I got sucked into some kind of survival game.

The challenge was to survive 7 days on just 50 dollars, and the winner would walk away with a million dollars.

As someone who might as well be certified as a professional at being broke, I knew exactly how to survive on next to nothing.

That prize money had my name written all over it.

I was sucked into some game world with 99 other people.

The system's robotic voice announced, "Welcome, all 100 players, to the Survival of the Poorest. Starting funds: 50 dollars. Objective: Survive 7 days inside the game. The winner gets one million dollars in prize money! Overspending, dying, or stepping outside the designated area will be treated as a forfeit, and you will carry one million dollars in debt."

The voice paused for a moment. Then, with a sly tone, it continued, "Now then, do any cowards want to back out?"

A young punk scoffed. "Quit? Are you kidding me? Seven days? I could last that long just drinking water!"

A chubby guy in a cheap T-shirt next to him wiped his sweat and said, "Exactly! I can buy some bread with those 50 bucks. Just stretch it out, and it'll be enough!"

"Go big or go home!"

"Only an idiot would quit!"

The crowd buzzed with blind excitement.

All 100 players stayed in, not a single person quit.

The system chimed in again, "The game rules are now in effect. Players cannot quit. All 100 players have been deployed. Everyone, welcome to 'Airport Limbo'. Good luck staying alive!"

Suddenly, a burst of white light flashed before me, and I found myself standing in a modern airport. The place was massive, and I could not even see the end of it. Crowds of people moved back and forth, making it impossible to tell who was a player and who was an NPC.

My game wallet displayed the untouched 50 dollars I had started with, and my interface showed three stats: hunger, thirst, and energy, all of which were currently in order.

I spotted a convenience store across the way, so I headed over to check out the prices.

As I walked up to the refrigerated section, a panicked cry rang out.

"Holy crap!"

It was that chubby guy from earlier, staring hard at the convenience store's cold case. "A bottle of water is 15 bucks?! That's robbery!"

I walked over and scanned the shelves, my heart sinking.

Cupcakes were 50 dollars, sandwiches were 40 dollars, buns were 10 dollars each, and even the cheapest packaged crackers cost 18 dollars.

A daily budget of 7 bucks was not even enough to cover half a bottle of water.

The chubby guy looked at me, his face full of despair. "Player 66, we're screwed! This money's only enough for three bottles of water! We're going to die within a week!"

I sighed. "The system isn't running a charity. I knew it wouldn't be that simple."

Other players also crowded into the convenience store, looking similarly shocked and panicked.

The chubby guy pulled me aside and said, "I'm Player 44, Omari Hayes. Let's team up, okay? It'd be good to have someone to watch your back in the game. If anyone messes with you, I can take them down."

He demonstrated some grappling moves, and his skills seemed pretty decent.

However, before I figured out the game rules, I did not want to team up with anyone. So, I politely declined. After that, I left the convenience store on my own.

My first priority was to find water, free water.

Outside the restrooms, I found a water fountain. Then, I spotted two discarded plastic water bottles nearby, washed them clean, and filled both to the brim.

My water problem was solved, and it cost me nothing.

Next up was getting some energy.

I saw a cafe up ahead. On the condiment station, packets of white sugar, creamer cups, and brown sugar were neatly arranged.

Sugar was a crucial energy source, and the packets could come in handy in emergencies to prevent low blood sugar.

With a blank expression, I calmly walked over like I was just grabbing something at home. A dozen sugar packets and a few creamers slipped into my pocket in under two seconds.

Once I was done, I calmly walked out of the cafe and found a secluded corner. There, I tore open two sugar packets and dumped them straight into my mouth. The intense sweetness exploded across my tongue, giving me a cheap illusion of fullness.

Energy, solved. Cost: zero.

The airport's AC was cranked up full blast, cold as a freezer. I figured the system did it on purpose because the colder it was, the faster a person burned through energy.

My thin clothes could barely block out the cold, so I had to keep moving to stay warm. Thankfully, I found a blanket in the trash someone had tossed after getting off their flight.

As time went on, the hunger grew intense. At 8 p.m., I wandered over to a bakery. The leftover bread behind the glass display case was giving off a warm, buttery smell.

My stomach let out a loud growl.

Relying on my broke-girl instincts, I figured this was the hour when the bakery would start marking things down.

Sure enough, the bread that was originally 30 dollars cost 15 dollars. However, that still was not good enough. I knew that close to closing time, the discounts would be even lower, maybe even free.

Every dollar I saved was another chance to survive. So, I sat in a chair across from the bakery, resting with my eyes half-closed.

Just then, someone used the public game broadcast and anonymously posted, [Come to the bakery in Section A on Level 3! Everything is half off!]

"Half-off bread?!"

"It's in Section A! Hurry!"

"Don't take it all! That's mine!"

Dozens of players rushed in from every direction, frantically charging toward the bakery. In just seconds, the small storefront turned into a mob scene.

In the chaos, I saw people waving cash while others straight-up grabbed bread off the shelves.

The employees panicked as they shouted, "Please line up!"

However, no one listened.

Within minutes, every discounted item, including the loaf I had been eyeing, was cleared out. The people who managed to buy something looked relieved, like they had just survived a disaster, while those who came up empty were slamming their fists and staring in despair.

The area was filled with other players cursing, complaining, and sighing hopelessly.

My hunger bar rose to 30%.

I took a deep breath, pushed down the cramping in my stomach, and shifted my gaze away from the chaotic crowd toward the massive flight information display screen high up in the airport.

Red flight statuses kept scrolling past.

It was time to show my real skills!

In this airport, players could move freely to any location. Even without a ticket, a person could go to the gates.

I quickly scanned the big screen and locked onto several delay notices marked in bold red. Flights delayed over six hours were my actual targets.

Dragging my weak legs, I headed toward a gate. There, I saw that a small group of people had gathered, and the air was thick with frustration and sweat.

Gate 102 had been delayed for 8 hours, and the stranded passengers had the airline staff completely surrounded.

The staff member was a young woman whose face had flushed red because the passengers' spit was practically hitting her.

"Does your airline even know how to do its job?!"

"My kid is starving and crying! Do something!"

"Compensation! We demand compensation! Give it to us now!"

The scene was out of control, and the poor staff member looked like she was about to break down.

'This is my chance,' I thought as I shoved my way into the center of the crowd.

However, I was not there to break up the fight but to position myself in front of the staff.

"Quiet!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

The crowd went silent, shocked by this sudden turn of events. I pointed at the mother holding a crying child and addressed all the passengers, my voice rising with emotion.

"Look! Just look at how badly this poor kid is crying! Does yelling help the plane take off any faster? The airline messed up, and they need to take responsibility, but what do we need most right now? We need food, a place to rest, and enough strength to stand our ground!"

I turned to the staff who was on the verge of a breakdown and said, "Everyone's emotions are running high. The priority right now is to calm the passengers down. Meal vouchers, hotel vouchers... Hand them out immediately! Let people get some food and get settled, because if this blows up any bigger, can you handle the fallout?"

The staff mumbled pitifully, "I've been telling them the whole time that meal vouchers and hotel vouchers are available, but they won't take them. Everyone needs to line up and collect them with their boarding passes–"

"You're still worried about procedures at a time like this?" I cut her off, pointing at the mom with the baby. "Look how exhausted she is! She's been holding her child for 8 hours, and now she has to stand in line for your meal vouchers?"

I turned to the mother and said, "Ma'am, give me your boarding pass! I'll get it for you."

I extended my hand, being all firm as if I would not allow the lady to refuse my help. The exhausted mother instantly shoved her boarding pass into my palm like it was a lifeline.

Once someone made the first move, the effect was immediate. Several other passengers, who were traveling with children or the elderly, or simply looked drained, hurried over and pushed their boarding passes at me, too.

"Get mine, too!"

"And mine!"

Within seconds, I was clutching over a dozen boarding passes.

I turned to the airline staff and thrust the passes toward her, whispering, "Hurry up and handle the most urgent cases first. It's better than having this hit the news, right? Slip me two extra meal vouchers, and I'll calm down these parents so everyone has a way to back off gracefully."

The staff looked at me with gratitude and quickly typed the information into the system. Soon, she pulled out a stack of meal vouchers, counted out the ones matching the boarding passes I had, then secretly added two more before handing them to me with a thankful look.

'Score!' I silently cheered. My heart was pounding wildly, but I remained calm on the surface.

"Here you go! Take your baby and go get some food!"

"Sir, here's yours!"

I quickly distributed the corresponding meal vouchers and boarding passes back to everyone, moving efficiently. Finally, I tucked those two extra vouchers into my hidden pocket.

I shouted to the crowd, "Everyone, go get your vouchers and grab some food! Rest up and save your energy! We'll deal with them later!"

While the crowd's attention shifted to collecting vouchers, I slipped out, instantly disappearing into the bustling terminal corridor.

In this game, the only way to survive was to see the gaps faster than everyone else.

Just as I left the gate area, I ran into Omari again. He smiled warmly and said, "Player 66, I saw what you did back there. You handled the situation like some big shot from a movie. Are you sure you don't want to team up with us? We might all need to watch each other's backs later on."

In just one day, he had managed to gather four more players around him. However, I still declined his invitation.

I grabbed some food with the mela voucher, temporarily maxing out my hunger bar. However, exhaustion hit me like a wave as my energy level had already dropped below 50%.

It was now 11 p.m., and foot traffic in the airport had noticeably thinned out. Most shops were closing up, the lights had grown dim, and an indescribable atmosphere of dread was starting to creep in.

All the terminal chairs had armrests to prevent people from lying down.

One young player, probably completely wiped out, wrapped himself in a thin jacket and curled up on the floor, trying to sleep. Less than two minutes later, a bright light shone directly in his face.

"Get up! No sleeping here," the security guard said in a flat monotone.

The young player ignored the NPC, rolled over, and kept sleeping. Suddenly, a group of security guards rushed out from the corner and, without warning, forcibly lifted him up and threw him outside the airport doors.

The game's public broadcast announced, "Player 13 has been eliminated for leaving the game zone and now owes one million dollars."

Right after that, players from different areas were eliminated in the same way. The system was pushing us to the edge, using exhaustion and cold to drain every last bit of rationality from the players.

By this point, my energy level was critically low. To avoid getting eliminated, I draped the worn blanket over myself and dozed off sitting in a gate area chair.

When the sun rose the next day, it was a brutal reminder that only one day had passed. My energy level had barely crawled back up to 75%, but my hunger bar rose to 50% again. Even so, I was not in a rush since I still had one meal voucher left.

I took a sip of cold water, ate two sugar packets, and continued hunting in the departure hall.

Suddenly, a player rushed forward and snatched a hot dog right out of a kid's hand. He brushed past me and nearly knocked me over.

The kid started bawling, and security came running. They surrounded the player and threw him into a police car outside the airport.

The system broadcast rang out again. "Player 25 has been eliminated for stealing food from an NPC and has been thrown out of the airport by security. He now has a debt of one million dollars."

I figured out one key rule: doing anything that would alert security was a no-go.