Chapter 24: A Villa?

Monocrystalline silicon? Electrical wire?

Aren't these the primary raw materials for making solar panels? She happened to have the blueprints for a power strip; if she could just get these three items, she would achieve charging independence and no longer have to worry about the vehicle running out of power.

Consequently, Liang Yi decisively opened the interface of Player 013.

[Player 2010: Hello, I am willing to trade a chicken leg for the monocrystalline silicon and electrical wire, but you must add a bottle of water.]

Liang Yi could handle being hungry, but going without water would surely lead to serious trouble.

[Player 013: Sorry, I only have one bottle of water right now.]
[Player 013: How about we split it half and half?]

After hesitating for two seconds, Liang Yi replied that it was acceptable. Soon, the transaction was complete. Three items appeared before Liang Yi. Now, all she needed was the solar panel blueprint to start crafting.

Regardless of whether there were supplies to trade, Liang Yi initiated another trade order.

[Player 2010 initiated an order: Need one solar panel blueprint. Those willing to trade, please private message.]

Once a trade order is completed, it turns gray, and other players can no longer comment on it. Therefore, those players who saw the chicken leg being traded away shifted their conversation to Liang Yi's latest order.

[Player Wei Lala: Bro, how did you trade that away so fast?]
[Player 13695: Bro, did you take any more photos? Let me look at them to satisfy my hunger.]
[My Surname is Zhang, the exaggerated Zhang: Who can give me paper and a pen? I need to draw a cake to satisfy my hunger.]
...

Because there were so many people discussing it, the order Liang Yi posted remained at the top for a while. However, none of them had the solar panel blueprint she wanted. Checking the battery level of her tricycle, she had enough for another fifty kilometers.

Sigh! This is too difficult.

Liang Yi's current situation remained precarious; food and water were extremely scarce, so she had to keep moving to secure more treasure chests. After two hours on the road, she finally discovered two Level 1 treasure chests and one Level 2 chest, feeling a surge of excitement.

With trepidation, she opened the chests. Fortunately, she obtained two bottles of mineral water, a pack of compressed biscuits, a loaf of bread, and a bandage. Liang Yi's stomach was already growling; she couldn't endure the torment of hunger any longer. Even though she had no interest in the dry, chalky compressed biscuits, she had to force a large chunk down. After eating, her throat felt parched and raw, as if dust were stuck in her windpipe, making it difficult to even swallow or breathe.

Liang Yi quickly grabbed the half-bottle of mineral water she had traded for and drank it all in one breath, which finally made her feel a little better. Having recovered some of her strength, she restarted the vehicle and continued on her way.

Soon, it was past two in the afternoon. Yawns came one after another, and tears welled up in her eyes involuntarily. Liang Yi began to wonder if she should find a place to stop, take a good rest, and have a nap to recover her energy.

Huh? What is that?

Just as Liang Yi steered her vehicle to avoid a crocodile that was likely well-fed and sleeping, she suddenly saw a building that resembled a castle not far ahead. She recalled that in "Creation," raw materials could be obtained not only from treasure chests but also from the game environment. Since there was a castle, couldn't she go inside and search? She might find something valuable.

As for the question of whether it was wrong to rashly enter someone else's place, Liang Yi didn't even consider it. In her view, she was in a virtual game; how could there be any room for social etiquette? Thus, without hesitation, she twisted the throttle of the tricycle and accelerated toward the castle.

However, to her surprise, the castle, which had seemed within reach, was still not reached after she had been driving at forty kilometers per hour for over ten minutes. Furthermore, the castle looked as if it were getting smaller. Liang Yi felt a bit puzzled but continued to drive forward.

After another six or seven minutes, she could finally see the place clearly. It covered an estimated area of over two hundred square meters and was surrounded by a wall more than two meters high. Strangely, the top of the wall was inexplicably studded with jagged shards of broken beer bottles.

What kind of villa is this? Liang Yi wondered to herself, skeptical that a villa would use such common, plebeian tools to protect its security. Moreover, the wall design was overly retro, built entirely of red bricks. It didn't look high-class at all.

"Game Assistant, has your game designer ever actually met a wealthy person?"
"These red bricks and glass shards don't look wealthy at all. You really need to..."

Before she could finish saying "improve," Liang Yi found the entrance to the "villa" with her tricycle and fell speechless upon seeing the reality inside.

[Player Liang Yi, this is a survival game, not a place for players to enjoy luxury; therefore, there are no villas.] The game assistant spoke up only after Liang Yi discovered the true state of the house.

Liang Yi's mouth turned down. "I don't need a villa, but you shouldn't have a dump site either."

That's right: what Liang Yi had mistaken for a villa was not a villa at all, but a dilapidated landfill. Although she hadn't entered yet, she could already hear the buzzing of flies in her ears. No wonder there were so many beer bottle shards stuck on the wall; it was all scavenged materials. But why was this building arched, and why did it have a roof? This was just deceptive! From the outside, it really did look like a two-story small building, with doors, windows, and exterior walls styled like a single-family villa.

Complaints aside, Liang Yi knew she might find many useful things in this landfill. Consequently, she drove her tricycle over the scattered cardboard, wire, and crushed plastic bottles, steering it into the dump.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
...

Before the vehicle had even come to a stop, fierce barking erupted from the side. Liang Yi was so startled that she accidentally twisted the throttle even further, and the vehicle lurched forward.

"Ah!" Liang Yi screamed in alarm.

[Release the throttle, release the throttle.] The game assistant wished it were a human so it could let out a deep sigh.

"Re... re... release the throttle..." Liang Yi muttered, but in her panicked state, her hands wouldn't listen. The vehicle continued to surge forward. Fortunately, there was a stack of bundled foam directly ahead. The vehicle slammed into it, but it wouldn't sustain much damage.

Bang! Bang!

The foam was crushed and sent flying, and the tricycle slowly came to a halt amidst the collision.

[Player Liang Yi, I hope you are alright.] After all, if something happened to her, it would be recalled and destroyed.