The air seemed to freeze.
Clara’s mind went blank. She froze for a full three seconds.
Did he see that? Impossible. This is privacy glass. He must be bluffing me again.
“What fresh milk?” Clara put on a confused look, her voice sharp. “That’s yogurt. I got it from a loot box.”
As she spoke, she pretended to be calm and took tissues from her Storage Space, then started wiping the milk stain off the center console. Derek watched her flustered attempt to cover it up, and the smile at the corner of his mouth deepened. He didn’t push. He just leaned against the car door, crossed his arms, and watched her little show with amusement.
Yogurt? Could yogurt from a loot box have an instant recovery effect like that? Bullshit.
He didn’t call her out. He just drawled, “Oh, yogurt, huh? Then you’d better hide it well. Don’t drop it again.”
“None of your business,” Clara yelled without turning her head, her hands moving faster.
After wiping the stain clean, she slammed the car door without even glancing at Derek. Clara swore that if she ever got the chance, she’d grind his smug, half-smiling face into the dirt a hundred times.
Outside the car, Derek just smiled and turned to leave. Through the window, Clara watched him go and breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she checked the water collector. It was almost full, so she poured all the water into paper cups. A hundred cups in total. Right after that, she started listing the milk and water on the Trading Platform.
MerchantItemTradeStock💧 Purified Water 3.4 oz2 limited materials (Iron Ingot/Steel Ingot)100🥛 High‑Energy Milk 3.4 ozSilver Ingot x10—💧 Purified Water 3.4 ozRope x5—
Chat Channel💬Anonymous Player-Big Red just listed more supplies again. Water and milk.-💬Anonymous Player-Now that’s what I call badass. We’re still fighting over a sip of water, and she’s already selling in bulk.-💬Anonymous Player-It only trades for Silver Ingots? What kind of material is that? Has anyone opened one before?-💬Anonymous Player-I’ve opened one before, but it’s hard to get. After all this time, I’ve only run into one green supply crate, and I got 5 from it. Too bad I can’t trade for it.-💬Anonymous Player-Tch, here we go again. Every time it’s some scarcity marketing. Can’t she just stock more at once?-💬Anonymous Player-Exactly. 100 portions of water, thousands of people fighting over them. You click in and it’s already gone. What is this, a game?-💬Anonymous Player-You two salty haters up there, if you’ve got what it takes, go sell too. She has the power, so she can sell however she wants. Who asked you to run your mouth?-
The supplies sold out in an instant. Clara ignored the snark from the Chat Channel and opened the build interface.
System🍀Lucky Four-Leaf Clover CharmBody Steel FrameVehicle upgraded to LV3!
Streak after streak of light flashed by, and her SUV grew to the size of a black Cadillac Escalade. Two extra seats appeared in the back. A delicate four-leaf clover charm hung quietly from the rearview mirror. Clara checked the vehicle info.
VehicleModel¦ Cadillac Escalade, MPV — LV3People1/4Defense300/300Defense bonus ¦ +50%.Fuel Tank (gal)10/15Max Speed ¦ 50 mph🍀Lucky Four-Leaf Clover CharmLight-Dimming Windows⛙TiresBody Steel FrameUpgrade requires:Iron Ingot×200Steel Ingot×100Copper Ingot×20Energy Crystal Core×1Vehicle Core×1
Looking at the long list of materials, Clara sighed helplessly.
This upgrade is like a bottomless pit.
What she was shortest on were Energy Crystal Cores and the never-before-heard-of Vehicle Core. She opened the Trading Platform and searched. Sure enough, no such item.
Looks like another rare drop.
“Forget it. No more thinking. Time to eat first.”
After rushing around half the day, her stomach had been growling for a while. She took out a pack of instant noodles and some C-rank leopard meat from Storage Space, then lit the coal stove and boiled water in the iron pot. Soon a steaming, fragrant pot of leopard meat instant noodles was ready. In no time, Clara finished the last noodle and drank every drop of the soup.
“That hit the spot.”
She leaned back against the seat and started planning her next move. The vehicle had already been upgraded to LV3, and both its Defense and speed had improved. The Lucky Four-Leaf Clover was already hung up. What she needed most now was still that unheard-of Vehicle Core.
With nothing else to do, she opened the Trading Platform to see if anyone was selling rare blueprints. After flipping through a few pages, one caught her eye.
MerchantItemTrade📐 Vehicle Cabin Modification BlueprintBottled Water x10, Bread x10•NoteSeller: ¦ the Iron TowerEffect: ¦ rear space expands by 70cu ft.
That was like adding the space of a double bed to the car. With this, resting and moving around in the car would be much more comfortable. Still, the price was a little steep. At this stage, almost no one could casually produce 10 bottles of water and 10 loaves of bread.
After thinking it over, Clara opened the private chat window. The guy’s avatar was a bald man, and he had sent her 99+ messages. She opened it and found they were all people trying to trade for her milk. She sent a message. Of course, she was still anonymous.
Private Chat💬Anonymous PlayerMan, your price is way too high. Who has that much stock right now? Three loaves of bread and three bottles of water. Think we can make a deal?
After sending it, Clara closed the window and didn’t pay it any more attention. The blueprint was in the other person’s hands. Whether they wanted to trade wasn’t up to her.
Meanwhile, some unknown distance ahead, in a gas station convenience store, there were four men and two women. One of them, a bald, muscular hulk nearly six and a half feet tall, paced back and forth in irritation. He was the Iron Tower, Marcus.
“Leo, this crappy blueprint’s been listed for half a day and nobody’s even asked about it. You really think we can hook Big Red?”
Leo Grant pushed up his glasses, a knowing smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Marcus, relax. She’ll reach out. Other people might not care about this blueprint, but Big Red definitely will. After all, someone with water and healing resources develops fast, so she’s bound to want more space. That’s why...”
While they were talking, Marcus’s wristband vibrated. He tapped it open in irritation, figuring it was another broke freeloader trying to get something for nothing. He was about to start cursing. But the instant he saw the private chat window, shock and wild joy wiped the irritation from his face. The gray avatar he had sent 99+ messages to, the one that had never once replied, had actually messaged him first.
It was her. Big Red.
“Holy crap!” Marcus was so excited he cursed, startling Leo beside him.
“What’s wrong, Marcus? Why are you freaking out?”
“Leo, she took the bait.”
Leo’s eyes lit up.
“Don’t reply yet! Don’t agree right away. Haggle a little first, or she’ll get suspicious, then agree.”