Chapter Six: Synthesis and Creation

The chat channel was bustling with activity. Liang Yi observed other players on different routes; some seemed to have a constant supply of resources, while others were forced to rely solely on finding treasure chests to survive.

However, those who struggled were also statistically more likely to find treasure chests than the others. Furthermore, their probability of encountering Tier 2 chests was significantly higher. Seeing this, Liang Yi could only feel a pang of envy.

Adopting the "out of sight, out of mind" philosophy, Liang Yi mentally switched to the "View Orders" interface within the "Trade" tab. It was filled primarily with people begging for food.

[Player 12356 initiates a trade: Offering a three-million-dollar watch in exchange for a bottle of water or instant noodles.]
[Player 356 initiates a trade: Offering about five pounds of raw pork in exchange for bread, instant noodles, or anything else.]
[Player 6523 initiates a trade: Found a Tier 2 chest and got a Tang sword from it. If interested, offer food and private message me.]
...

Liang Yi scrolled through, but nothing caught her interest, so she navigated to the "Creation" tab. The layout was similar to the sandbox games she had played, featuring a nine-grid crafting interface and storage slots.

Liang Yi tried placing a sausage she had found in the town into the grid, but the screen displayed: [Finished products cannot be further crafted.] She tried the same with instant noodles and bread, only to receive the same message.

Checking the road ahead and seeing it remained clear, she continued her research. To craft items via the "Creation" module, one needed both raw materials and blueprints. Blueprints could only be found in Tier 3 chests or higher. As for the raw materials, there was no indication of where to source them.

"Game Assistant, where can I obtain these raw materials?" Since she was at a loss, the assistant was the best person to ask.

"Raw materials must be gathered by players along the way or exchanged with others," the Game Assistant replied dutifully.

Hearing this, Liang Yi looked at the simplest craftable items: iron axes, iron swords, and wood-chopping knives, all of which required wooden sticks and iron. Wooden sticks, in turn, required wood. According to the game's settings, a basic log needed to be one meter long with a minimum diameter of twenty centimeters.

Looking at the trees whizzing by outside, Liang Yi tried asking, "Game Assistant, do I have to chop these logs myself?"

"Yes," the assistant replied.

"Without tools, are we supposed to snap them by hand?" Liang Yi thought of the only Tier 2 chest she had opened, which contained only a paring knife. Trying to chop down a tree with that seemed like trying to stop a chariot with a praying mantis.

Liang Yi then remembered the "Initiate Trade" section under the "Trade" tab. She decisively opened it in her mind and posted a trade offer: [Player 2010 initiates trade: One loaf of bread in exchange for two logs, each one meter long and at least twenty centimeters in diameter.]

As she clicked to start the trade, a prompt popped up: [Please select online trade or in-person trade.]

Liang Yi felt that safety was the top priority right now. She had no idea if the people she might meet in person were friend or foe, so she decisively chose "Online Trade."

[Online trading requires a 10% service fee. Would you like to pay it yourself or have the buyer pay?]

Liang Yi didn't consider herself a miser, but given that she couldn't even guarantee her own next meal, being a bit stingy was arguably necessary. Thus, she chose "Buyer pays."

[Trade initiated. Please keep an eye on your notifications.]

No sooner had she exited the trade interface than the order notification icon in the top right corner exploded with numbers. Confirming there was no immediate danger on the road ahead, she kept the vehicle at a steady speed and opened the order information.

Because the game forbade players from knowing each other's names, everyone was identified as Player 1, Player 2, and so on. Liang Yi was Player 2010. She hadn't asked about Wu Can, so she didn't know his designation.

Along with the order information came a flurry of messages.

[Player 102: Hey friend, I have an axe. I guarantee I can get those logs to you within half an hour.]
[Player 623: Trade with me, friend. Half a loaf of bread is enough.]
[Player 13562: Are you dirt poor? You're charging a service fee for a single loaf of bread?]
...

Liang Yi was shocked to see that the player count had already reached over ten thousand. "This game of yours, it actually has this many people?"

"Yes," the Game Assistant explained. "The Road Survival game has thirty thousand participants, which is considered average. The most populated one is the 'Apocalypse Disaster' scenario, with one hundred thousand players and millions of NPCs. The least populated is 'Infrastructure Farming,' with one hundred players."

Hearing that the "Apocalypse Disaster" scenario where her parents were located had so many players, her expression darkened. After all, human nature is the hardest thing to predict. With so many players, her parents—who had lived honest lives—would likely be unable to handle the schemes of others, nor could they keep up physically. Thinking about the fact that she hadn't seen a single corpse so far, anxiety began to gnaw at her.

Liang Yi needed to collect corpses in exchange for points, which was why she had started at the very back and chosen the town road with the most players—hoping to find the aftermath of player conflicts and scavenge the fallen. Yet, she had seen nothing on the road.

She could only guess that these players were still in the beginner phase, constrained by their internal sense of morality and social norms. They might get into fights, but they weren't ready to kill. Liang Yi herself hadn't killed anyone either, and it seemed she wouldn't be able to exchange for supplies today. But what about her parents, her sister, and her brother?

Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind. Since there was a trade channel where anything could be sold, couldn't she use that? Fearing the Game Assistant might intervene, she didn't give it a chance to react, exiting the "Order Information" interface and initiating a new trade.

[Player 2010 initiates trade: Seeking animal or other corpses. Interested parties, please private message me.]

She didn't set a price. She didn't have high expectations for this order. Once the order was live, she exited and returned to the "Order Information" screen to select a trade partner.

Ultimately, she chose Player 623. It was mainly because this person was efficient; after sending the message, they had immediately started chopping. Two logs were already on the ground next to an axe.

[Player 623: Hello friend, what do you think of these two logs?]
[Player 623: If they aren't good enough, I'll chop some more.]
[Player 2010: They're fine. Just click agree.]
[Player 623: Okay, thanks, brother.]

Player 623 didn't seem like the talkative type; he didn't ask what she needed logs for and simply agreed.

*Ding!*

The game interface chimed, followed by the sound of a successful transaction. Liang Yi checked; the bread she had offered was gone, and the logs she had received were displayed in the game panel, with the box blinking to indicate they were waiting to be claimed.

The logs were over a meter long, and she had nowhere to put them. She wondered if it would be more convenient to leave them unclaimed.

"Player Liang Yi, if items are not claimed, they will be automatically deposited after one minute." The game designer had clearly anticipated players trying to exploit this loophole.

Sure enough, she noticed a countdown on the box. With no other choice, she clicked to claim them and placed the items into the cargo bed of her tricycle.