Bonnie got back in her car. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She felt Clara had ripped her off. She picked up the cup of water and was about to drink, but the small red heart on the cup caught her eye.
“Pretty cute.”
She muttered it to herself. The pattern looked familiar, but she couldn’t remember where she had seen it. Maybe it was her imagination. There were plenty of patterned cups back on Earth. She stopped thinking about it, chugged the water in one go, and tossed the empty paper cup onto the passenger seat.
Then her gaze froze.
On the passenger seat lay another empty paper cup, and on its side was the exact same red heart.
“Hmm?” She frowned, picked it up, and examined it carefully. “Wait. Isn’t this the same cup as the one I got when I traded for Purified Water on the Trading Platform before?”
A terrifying thought struck her. Bonnie immediately took out another paper cup filled with water.
“This... is exactly the same?”
“No way it’s that much of a coincidence. Could it be her?”
To confirm, she opened the Chat Channel, took a photo with her wristband, and posted it.
Chat Channel💬Anonymous Player[Image] -Has anyone here bought water from that seller? Take a look. Is there the same design on the paper cup?-💬Anonymous Player-Yeah, yeah, yeah, mine too. A red heart with a little tail. Pretty good-looking.-💬Anonymous Player-It’s there, but what’s the problem? The one I bought from the milk seller has the same design.-💬Anonymous Player-What do you mean...-💬Anonymous Player-Wait. Guys, don’t you see the connection? The water seller and the milk seller use the same type of paper cup.-
Right after that came a string of “Holy crap” messages.
Chat Channel💬Anonymous Player-@Snow Pear, how did you find out?-💬Anonymous Player-Because I just saw her, and I even traded with her. There aren’t many people who can bring out water resources right now. And with the cup, I can’t think of anyone else. Ugh, I should’ve gotten on her good side earlier. Boo-hoo...-💬Anonymous Player-That’s... actually terrifying when you think about it. One person monopolizing the two most important supplies? That’s way too scary.-💬Anonymous Player-Case solved. It’s definitely the same person. This red heart is her signature mark.-💬Anonymous Player-From now on, let’s call her Big Red!-💬Anonymous Player-Could she have bought them too? I mean, cups can’t confirm it, right?-💬Anonymous Player-@Snow Pear, wait, you said... she? She’s a woman?-
— This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
The moment those words went up, the channel went silent for two seconds, then exploded.
Chat Channel💬Anonymous Player-@Snow Pear, quick, do you have a photo of her? Post it so we can see.-💬Anonymous Player-Where are you? @Snow Pear, say something!-
By then, Bonnie had no time to answer the messages flooding in. She turned her head stiffly and stared at the empty paper cup she had tossed onto the passenger seat.
“Why didn’t I think of her right away? Even if it wasn’t her, how many people have both water and food?”
Bonnie jerked her head up and looked at the black SUV that had long since disappeared ahead. In her eyes there was no more jealousy or resentment, only envy and admiration.
“Right. I have to catch up and get on her good side.”
She stepped on the gas and chased after it.
Meanwhile, about fifteen miles away, Clara came to a Y-shaped intersection just like before. The two roads stretched out to unseen ends. She parked and muttered to herself.
“Last time I picked left because I was a guy. But now this body is female, so if I follow the ‘guys left, girls right’ rule, I should go right?” She was amused by her own silly thought and shook her head. “Fuck the guys-left-girls-right bullshit. I’ll go whichever way I want.”
In the end, she turned the wheel to the right. Purely because she wanted to check out the scenery. Maybe a woman’s sixth sense would bring her good luck. After driving on the right-hand road for over an hour, though, she hadn’t come across a single supply crate.
“Was my analysis wrong? Are the places with lots of supply crates only on the left?”
“Finally. I thought my instincts were off.”
She got out and opened it the same way as before. Inside were a 13.2-gallon can of gasoline, 5 bottles of water, and a blueprint. Clara’s gaze was drawn to the faintly blue glow of the blueprint. She picked it up to examine it.
Appraisal📐B-rank Lucky Four‑Leaf Clover Charm BlueprintMaterials: ¦ Rope x5, Silver Ingotx10, Wood Element Core x1Level Requirement: ¦ Vehicle LV3Effect: ¦ Once equipped, +20%chance to get a blueprint whenopening supply crates. (Note: doesnot stack)
*An accessory that boosts blueprint drop rate? This is practically magic.*
Clara’s breathing quickened. She knew exactly what this meant. In this world, what was most valuable? Not food, not gasoline. Blueprints. They ranked at the very top. But there was one material Clara knew nothing about. The others she understood.
“Wood Element Core. Where the hell do I get one of those?”
Clara frowned and opened the Trading Platform to search for it. The result was “no such item.”
*Looks like it’s a rare material that only drops from killing specific monsters.*
Luckily, the level requirement was LV3, and she only needed to upgrade her vehicle. After putting the supplies away, Clara didn’t linger and kept exploring. Around noon, she finally came across two supply crates, one brown and one white. The white one yielded 10 eggs and 1 head of fresh baby cabbage. The brown one yielded 2 tubs of instant ramen and 1 bottle of water. Nothing else.
It was noon, the sun was brutal, and Clara was tired. She parked on the shoulder, took out a camp stove and a cast-iron skillet, and prepared to treat herself. She added water to the skillet and lit some logs. Soon the water was boiling. She tore open a pack of beef-flavored instant ramen, dropped the noodle block and the vegetable packet into the skillet, and cracked an egg in. Finally, she extravagantly added a few slices of fresh baby cabbage and several large pieces of braised mutton. Soon an aroma of instant ramen and meat drifted through the air.
“Now this really is a case of ‘serving suggestion only.’” Clara looked at the big chunks of mutton in the pot. “This meat is way bigger than that little bit of dried meat in the seasoning packet.”
Too impatient to wait, she started eating straight out of the pot. The hot noodles, savory broth, and chewy mutton made every pore in her body relax.
“This is the ultimate luxury in the apocalypse.”
Full and satisfied, Clara leaned back and started to rest. With nothing better to do, she opened the Chat Channel to see what the survivors were up to. The moment she opened it, she froze.