“Huh? There are monsters too?”
Hearing that person’s question, someone asked in surprise.
“Have you guys not run into any monsters?”
*Monsters?*
Hearing the word, Lin Wanwan recalled the utter plight of her first time transmigrating into the Highway Survival world.
Because she hadn’t known that monsters could hatch from the boxes, she had dodged left and right for ages before barely managing to escape.
In this life, because she was the very first to obtain a box, the Entity’s reward to her had been the elimination of all negative effects. In other words, Level 2 and Level 3 treasure chests actually held dreadbeasts or other negative encounters, but they had all been wiped out by the Entity.
This served as a reminder to Lin Wanwan: in the future, when opening boxes, she had to be cautious, cautious, and cautious again.
Her only regret today was that she hadn’t pulled a single weapon.
As long as she had a weapon in hand, Lin Wanwan was confident she could handle early-stage dreadbeasts—after all, she had encountered them before.
As for whether she could handle later-stage dreadbeasts, Lin Wanwan had no idea, because she simply hadn’t survived that long.
“Monsters? What kind of monsters?”
While Lin Wanwan was lost in thought, someone in the chat group asked.
“I don’t know if you’ve encountered any, but the monster I ran into today looked like a rat, only five or six times larger than the rats we used to see.”
“Five or six times larger? How big is that?! Rats are my absolute worst fear!”
Several other users with female profile pictures chimed in one after another in agreement.
Just then, someone asked a question:
“Um, I want to ask: did you kill that rat, or did you run away?”
“I killed it, but I’m injured now. Can I ask if anyone has medicine? I’m willing to trade a long blade for it.”
*A long blade?*
Hearing about this weapon, Lin Wanwan’s interest was piqued. She used to wield a blade in the past; although she hadn’t pulled a skill book yet, she still possessed basic swordplay skills. The only problem was that she didn’t have any medicine.
*Sigh, why didn’t I open any pharmaceuticals?*
“A long blade? Big bro, I don’t have medicine, but before you die, could you give me the blade? You won’t have any use for it anyway.”
Seeing this message, Lin Wanwan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
The man was on the verge of dying, yet this person was already looking to feast on a dead man’s loot—that was a bit unscrupulous.
Some people in the group couldn’t stand his opportunistic behavior either and began to condemn him.
In this unknown Highway Survival world, many people were starting to unleash their true natures, but there were still those who held onto their principles.
Lin Wanwan did not participate in these discussions, simply munching on her hamburger while silently watching them chat.
Most of it was just useless clutter.
After an unknown amount of time passed, the man who had been bitten by the rat suddenly posted again.
“Urgent! Does anyone have a stove? I’m willing to trade the long blade for it!”
Seeing this message, Lin Wanwan felt a stir of interest, but she didn’t reply right away.
A long blade was indeed nice, but in her view, its value might not necessarily compare to her wood stove.
Besides, why did he suddenly need a stove? Could he have caught wind of some information?
Most importantly, Lin Wanwan knew that many people had pulled plenty of good items; it was just that most of them were sneaky schemers who were currently holding back and observing.
“Big boss, what do you need a stove for?”
Before Lin Wanwan could figure it out, someone asked aloud.
“Do you have a stove?”
“No.”
“If you don’t have a stove, why are you asking so many useless questions?”
The man who had been bitten by the rat sounded rather hot-tempered.
“Don’t be so stingy. If you tell us the reason, someone who actually has a stove might trade with you.”
Presumably feeling that there was some truth to this, the rat-bitten man paused for a few seconds before posting another message:
“It’s not for me. Someone else has medicine, but he doesn’t want my long blade—he wants a stove.”
“Why does he want a stove? You still haven’t said,” another person pressed.
“How the hell should I know why he wants a stove?! If you have one, trade with me; if you don’t, shut the fuck up!”
The rat-bitten man’s tone was brimming with impatience.
“You deserve to die, speaking so evasively. We’re all compatriots here, what’s the harm in saying it?”
Someone began trying to guilt-trip him.
He went completely silent and didn’t utter another word.
While Lin Wanwan watched their exchange, she selectively began making trades from the remaining listings.
A buckwheat hull pillow for just one bottle of mineral water?
Lin Wanwan snatched it up directly.
A plush teddy bear: this item was useless in an apocalypse—you couldn’t eat or drink it—but thinking about how Duoduo hadn’t brought a single toy with her, she bargained it down and picked it up for two bottles of mineral water.
Lin Wanwan began a full-on shopping spree.
A four-piece bedding set—traded.
Nutrient soil—traded.
Toilet paper—traded.
A plastic washbasin—traded.
As long as the cost didn’t exceed two bottles of water, Lin Wanwan traded for it, acquiring quite a miscellaneous assortment of items.
To her pleasant surprise, she even traded a pack of biscuits for a fully filled lighter, and used two bottles of water to get a pack of sanitary pads from a man.
By the time Lin Wanwan stopped, she had only six bottles of ordinary mineral water left, along with half a pack of biscuits.
Her only regret was that the toast hadn’t been traded away.
These people really had no taste.
Toast was so delicious, especially when stuffed with chicken and dipped in chicken gravy—one bite was utterly savory and rich.
Oh right, these people didn’t have Big Plate Chicken. Never mind then; she and Duoduo would just eat it themselves.
Once Lin Wanwan had eaten and drunk her fill, organized the items, and casually stuffed the bear into her sister’s arms, she prepared to rest.
Tonight was likely the last peaceful night in Highway Survival; there would never be such a comfortable environment again.
She adjusted the driver and front passenger seats so they faced each other, padded the empty space in between with the pillow, and then unfolded the four-piece bedding set, spreading it gently over top.
A rudimentary bed was set up.
Although it couldn’t compare to her bed at home, it was vastly better than staying in the back compartment as she had during her first transmigration.
As a modern person, checking one’s phone one last time before going to sleep was a habit shared by almost everyone, and Lin Wanwan was no exception.
Before lying down, she glanced at the light screen once more.
At that moment, the man who had been bitten by the rat sent another message:
“Does anyone have a tin can? A large tin can. I’m willing to trade the long blade for it.”
*A tin can?*
Hearing that the man wanted a large tin can, Lin Wanwan thought about it briefly and immediately understood his intention.
In the past, she had seen plenty of wilderness survival shows in short video clips: as long as someone had a tin can, they could fashion a makeshift stove out of it.
His repeated demands for a stove… could it be that the person trading with him also knew that tomorrow would bring an extreme cold disaster?
Otherwise, it made no sense why the other party was willing to trade precious medicine for a stove.
She didn’t have an empty tin can, but she had cans of Xinjiang Big Plate Chicken!
Once she dumped out the contents, wouldn’t that leave an empty can? And after a little modification, wouldn’t that empty can become a stove?
Lin Wanwan realized that simply treating those dozens of large canned goods purely as food was a bit of a waste of god-given resources.
A glint characteristic of a cunning profiteer sparkled in her eyes.