Chapter 5: Striking It Rich

10 a.m.

Yu Jiang found only one box, obtaining three iron blocks and three nails.

However, she gathered quite a few materials; she managed to collect six portions of blue mushrooms, the key ingredient for hallucinogenic powder.

Even more exciting, she spotted a wild blueberry plant.

The plant was small, bearing only seven or eight ripe berries.

Yu Jiang decided to transplant this precious plant and nurture it for continual harvests.

Without a flowerpot on hand, she used a wooden box as a temporary substitute.

Not sure if she’d somehow activated a buff that spawns monsters when gathering, but before she could finish planting the blueberries, an “infected” staggered her way.

To prevent the blueberries from contamination, Yu Jiang grabbed a sharpened wooden stick and lured the zombie away.

Yesterday, with only stones, she’d had to run.

Today was different—she had healing medicine!

Yu Jiang wanted to use this zombie for practice. Of course, she wasn’t willing to give up the soon-to-be harvestable fruit tree or the kill reward.

The zombie let out a loud roar, its gray, decayed face tearing as it screamed.

Yu Jiang tightened her grip on the stick, seizing the moment. As the zombie lunged, she thrust with both hands, wielding the stick with the fierce resolve of a skilled fighter.

Thwip—

She missed the head and hit the body, only causing a one-point health loss.

Inexperience accounted for the mistake, she reassured herself.

Trying to pull out the stick, the zombie wildly jerked forward, preventing her from withdrawing it. Instead, the stick pierced deeper into its body.

Sliding along the stick, the zombie advanced. Yu Jiang quickly released her hold and retreated. Seizing the zombie’s momentary hindrance, she pulled out a sharp stone and hammered fiercely.

A warning flashed: health minus one. The zombie’s face was now a ruin, and its gaze seemed to say:

“Just be human! Your head is all crooked!”

Suppressing her pounding heart, Yu Jiang yanked out the stick and delivered the final blow.

[Player killed “Infected,” earned 16 crysta coins.]

Ah, this…

Only sixteen?

She had assumed the kill reward was a fixed 100 crysta coins.

Though she didn’t yet know how to use crysta coins, her intuition told her they were valuable. Stockpiling wouldn’t hurt.

Money makes the world go round; lacking it, you’re stuck—just like in any survival game!

Having lost five health points, Yu Jiang decided against using medicine just yet. It wasn’t worth it now; she’d wait until she’d taken more damage.

She took out the rainwater she’d collected last night in an empty mineral water bottle, cleaned the zombie blood off her hands, then cautiously rinsed with clean drinking water.

Yu Jiang transplanted the blueberries into the wooden box. A glowing message appeared:

[Congratulations, player has obtained “Irritable Blueberry.” With careful nurturing, it might bring pleasant surprises.

(I’m the coolest kid on the highway! I love sunshine, clean water, and temperatures between 5 and 40 degrees—outside that, I’ll die on you!)

Current mood: 30]

Yu Jiang was stunned. She’d heard of cherry bombs, but irritable blueberries?

She placed the blueberries on the back seat, planning to finish her mission before organizing her supplies.

Just then, a message popped up on her interface.

[Your friend “X” has gifted you “Outdoor Folding Knife x1.” Accept?]

She confirmed, and the item was sent to a temporary system slot.

It must be claimed within five minutes or it would be destroyed.

“So soon, and I’ve got a weapon,” Yu Jiang murmured, opening her friend list and replying, “Received.”

The reply was brief: “Okay.”

Transaction done, no further words exchanged, Yu Jiang hurried to gather resources.

Seeing some lucky players on the chat screen, she felt invigorated.

She mainly collected two types of ingredients for medicinal powders. In total, she had:

Blue mushrooms x10

Shaggy mane mushrooms x6

She also found three wooden boxes.

Rubber x5, drinking water x3, self-heating outdoor rice meals x2, battery x1, iron blocks x5, compressed biscuits x10.

In the last wooden box, just two kilometers from her destination, she found a backpack expansion card—each card adds ten inventory slots!

Yu Jiang slapped her thigh in excitement. She knew it! The law of conservation of luck would not fail; she couldn’t be unlucky forever!

That evening, she organized all her supplies.

On the chat screen, some had pooled resources to upgrade their vehicles. Others lucked out with double rewards when opening boxes.

More people were asking for medicine, but none offering to sell.

Some had found healing items in boxes, but they only restored five health points—rare and difficult to get.

Yu Jiang had five doses of hallucinogenic powder and fifteen of hemostatic powder.

She wanted to trade some hemostatic powder for supplies. Her tricycle had 30% battery left, with one spare battery.

Only one day remained in the newbie period, so upgrading the vehicle quickly was crucial.

After thinking a moment, she messaged two friends on her list: “Want some healing medicine?”

To build long-term friendly trades, when prices were similar, she prioritized friends.

Replies came quickly.

“X”: 20 iron blocks, 2 glue, 5 rubber, half a box of matches, plus some info, all in exchange for three doses of medicine.

Ordinary supplies probably wouldn’t interest them, but this message detailed all remaining materials needed to upgrade vehicles.

Along with the fire source they lacked, it was valuable information.

Yu Jiang was genuinely interested.

“I’ll give you two doses first. The info is worth it. How about one more?”

They agreed. After completing the trade, she received a message:

“Complete 200 kilometers within the three-day newbie period to finish it early. You can take an extra mission or enter a service area to find a hidden achievement.

Temperature and weather change constantly. You may face extreme weather later.”

Yu Jiang hid her surprise. “How do you know? Have you finished your newbie period already?”

“Yeah, just now,” came the casual reply.

Such nonchalance, yet so driven.

This person was willing to trade a solar panel—an essential item—for gas, just to rack up mileage.

So decisive. She probably wouldn’t have the heart to trade that.

Yu Jiang kept her promise and sent a dose as a gift.

“Let me know when you have higher-level healing medicine.”

“Okay.”

Later, amid the joyful chatter of a pure-hearted cockroach, she traded one dose for two bottles of mineral water, an old wrench, and five nails.

“Healing medicine that restores 10 points! I’ve got a can of car spray paint too. Here, can’t let you lose out!”

Good people still existed in the world. Lin Miao carefully placed the medicine in the first slot. Yu Jiang smiled with satisfaction upon receiving the items.

Spray paint wasn’t just for changing colors.

The system scanned the spray paint and displayed:

[Your vehicle is the coolest on the highway! Using this reduces wear by 5%. If wear reaches zero, it converts to a 5% shield.]

Afterward, Yu Jiang contacted a friend known for cycling 70 kilometers daily on a vintage bike.

She traded one dose of medicine for four batteries, one piece of glass, and two packs of tissues.

There was also someone claiming to have only 20 health points left, willing to pay high prices for medicine.

“I can spare one dose, but everyone knows healing medicine is precious. What are you offering?” Yu Jiang asked directly.

The other party panicked. “Brother, I’ve got a folding tool bench. Someone wanted to trade me an engine for it before, but I refused. How about I add a 20,000-value watch?”

Yu Jiang knew that offer lacked sincerity.

“A 2 million-value watch is meaningless here. If you only have the tool bench, forget it.”

After a few seconds, the offer increased.

“I’ll add a screwdriver and multifunctional pliers. Please, sell me the medicine. For fellow survivors’ sake.”

“Deal!”

With these tools, she could craft and dismantle basic supplies, stepping toward true self-sufficiency.