◎Mounting Troubles◎
With the storm about to break, Yan Lan’s heart began to sink into despair.
She walked like a zombie for what felt like an eternity, until finally, a glimmer of anomaly appeared ahead. Her senses seemed cut off from the outside world, only her legs still moving mechanically forward.
As she drew closer, she was able to make out what was happening up ahead.
The off-road vehicle was moving in fits and starts, the front end not aligned with the road but veering crookedly. It seemed to be trying to adjust its position, but the adjustments were slow and clumsy due to lack of practice.
Seeing this, she pieced together everything.
She quickened her pace, reached the off-road vehicle, opened the door, which hadn’t been fully closed, and climbed inside.
The moment she sat down, rain and snow came pouring down in a torrential deluge.
“Jii jii~ Jii jii~”
Xueqiu spotted the figure before him and immediately pounced, flying up to her cheek to nuzzle her as he usually did. But then he noticed Yan Lan’s expression wasn’t quite right, so he quickly obediently returned to the passenger seat.
“Jii jii~ Jii jii~”
Xueqiu cautiously stole a glance at Yan Lan. His eyes were wet and glistening, as if he had just been crying.
In the end, Yan Lan couldn’t stay mad at him. She let out a long sigh, gave his little belly a firm rub, and said, “Watch closely. This is how you make a U-turn.”
“Jii jii~”
Seeing Yan Lan rubbing his belly just like usual, Xueqiu perked up again, cheerfully fluttering onto her shoulder and stretching his fluffy little head to rub against her cheek.
“Alright, enough with the cute act. If you wander off again, I won’t keep you anymore.”
“Jii jii~” Xueqiu rubbed against her cheek once more, as if to say, “I won’t, I won’t.”
It was partly her fault for being so oblivious, too. That morning, when Xueqiu had lunged toward the steering wheel, she should have figured out what he was trying to do. Then she wouldn’t have gotten out to pick up the treasure chest, giving this playful little spirit the perfect opportunity to try driving and accidentally take the car away.
But who could have guessed something like that?
Who would ever think that a little spirit born in the snow would enjoy driving?
And after watching her for just one day, he had already learned to do it quite decently, even a pro racer couldn’t pick it up that fast!
She had always driven straight along the highway and never turned back, so it made sense that Xueqiu didn’t know how to make a U-turn.
But luckily, he had seen her brake before. Otherwise, she really would have had to walk a hundred kilometers through the freezing snow to chase after the car.
After going through all the controls once and demonstrating several times, Yan Lan asked, “Got it?”
Xueqiu nodded nonstop. “Jii jii~”
Yan Lan said, “Alright then, you drive. And remember to drive safely!”
Xueqiu nodded like a pecking chicken. “Jii jii~ Jii jii~”
Seeing how excited he looked, she still felt a little uneasy. So she moved to the passenger seat, watching and guiding his operations as she went.
“First, start the ignition, release the handbrake, and keep the steering straight.”
Despite Xueqiu’s tiny arms and stubby legs, he was surprisingly strong.
He perched on the steering wheel, and with a small twist of his little paws, the wheel turned easily left and right.
As for the brake, accelerator, and various buttons, one little paw wave sent out an invisible force that effortlessly controlled all the components.
The passenger seat fell silent. Xueqiu glanced over and saw Yan Lan staring in stunned amazement. He raised his little chin, which was almost indistinguishable from his tiny body, with a smug look.
“…”
It seemed she really didn’t need to worry about him. So Yan Lan climbed into the back seat. With a helper to drive, she now had more time to produce supplies.
The night before, she had spent nearly three hours turning 1,000 pieces of wood into charcoal. She had given half to Shi Yuanyuan to trade for wood and metal materials, and listed the rest in her own trading center to acquire rare supplies.
“Buying electronic components at a high price. No quantity limit. First come, first served.”
As a well-known figure in Zone H-38, every announcement Yan Lan posted in the trading center was promptly shared to the chat groups.
“Did you see that? Yan Lan wants to buy electronic components!”
“Electronic components are really rare. Would anyone actually trade them?”
“I think some people probably would. The weather’s so cold, you need at least 5 or 6 pieces of charcoal a day. Even with those low-quality products from the Jin Gang, supply is far from enough.”
“You can’t skip using charcoal. It’s too cold to bear.”
“The persistent low temperature is already having a negative effect on my HP.”
“I just upgraded to an off-road vehicle, and it has air conditioning! But…”
“Wow, lucky you upstairs, you’ve got heating covered.”
“I wasn’t finished. But, the power consumption is insane. It used up 3 units of gasoline in just one hour. I barely have enough gas for driving, let alone running the AC!”
“Huh? So you’re still going to compete with us for charcoal?”
“Sigh, what can I do? Once night comes, I can’t sleep without buying some charcoal to keep warm.”
“At least you have an off-road vehicle to block the wind. We’re still on three-wheelers. Please don’t compete with us poor folks!”
“Why not? The trading center is right there. Whoever’s fastest gets it~”
Just then, Jiang Tiantian chimed in to advertise: “Hey everyone, the Jin Gang has worked overtime to produce a new batch of charcoal so you can all have a warm night. Same price as before! Come grab it while supplies last~”
The chat group fell silent for a moment, then exploded.
“Buy your charcoal at night? I’d be afraid of getting smoked to death in my sleep!”
“Right. You sleep like a log at night. Use your charcoal and you might actually die.”
“Burning your charcoal is no better than just burning plain wood~”
“Exactly. It’s fine for daytime use, but at night, we still need Yan Lan’s.”
Jiang Tiantian was fuming at all the complaints in the group. She angrily punched the steering wheel, but accidentally hit the horn. A deafening blast rang out, nearly scaring her out of her seat.
She patted her startled little heart and silently cursed Yan Lan under her breath.
After Yan Lan’s announcement went out, many players began to stir with interest.
In a chat group called “Little Sunflower, Go!”, three players were having an intense discussion.
Lu Zilin: “Did you see that? Yan Lan’s latest announcement!”
Zhang Xiaoxiao: “I saw it! Should we trade or not? Trade or not?”
Xiang Rikui (Sunflower): “I think we definitely should. If we don’t trade, how are the three of us going to make it through tonight?”
Lu Zilin: “Yeah, I feel the same way. I just saw in the main group that one electronic component can get you 15 pieces of charcoal. Since we’re short on supplies, let’s trade just one for now. That way each of us gets 5 pieces. Her charcoal is sturdy and long-lasting, it should easily last us until tomorrow night.”
Zhang Xiaoxiao: “I think Ah Lu is absolutely right. As long as one of us upgrades to an off-road vehicle first, the others won’t be far behind.”
Xiang Rikui: “Yeah, we help each other. We’ve already made it through with pushcarts, why should we be afraid of a three-wheeler?”
Lu Zilin: “I have the most electronic components right now, so I’ll make the trade today.”
Zhang Xiaoxiao: “Ah Lu today, then me tomorrow.”
Xiang Rikui: “Ah Lu today, Xiaoxiao tomorrow, then Kuikui the day after.”
Zhang Xiaoxiao: “At the same time, let’s also grab Shi Yuanyuan’s charcoal. He only asks for wood and other materials. Remember, speed is key!”
Lu Zilin: “Alright, it’s settled. Remember our slogan—”
All three in unison: “Go, Little Deer, keep going!”
No sooner had Yan Lan posted her announcement than someone came to trade with her. It was a girl named Lu Zilin.
Lu Zilin: “Hello, I’d like to trade for an electronic component.”
With that, an electronic component was transferred over. It was so direct and fast that Yan Lan could hardly believe it.
She clicked confirm, and the transaction was complete. But Lu Zilin didn’t leave, clearly, she still had something to ask.
“Excuse me, could you reserve some for us over the next few days? We’d like to trade for more charcoal, but we’re worried you might run out by then.”
Yan Lan: “I can’t say for sure. You could just trade for everything you need at once.”
Lu Zilin: “Two other sisters and I have formed a mutual aid team. We’re not very strong, so we can’t earn that many supplies all at once. That’s why we wanted to pay in installments.”
With that, she sent a screenshot of their group chat.
Yan Lan skimmed through it quickly and was deeply moved. In such a cruel world, being able to maintain genuine kindness and goodwill, no matter the circumstances, was always worthy of praise.
But she really couldn’t offer special treatment. If everyone asked for favors, how could she run her business?
She replied: “Sorry, I can’t do that. I have a limited amount of charcoal, and I don’t know if there’ll be any left by then.”
Lu Zilin: “Alright then. But thank you anyway.”
Yan Lan: “You’re welcome~”
The next customer was even more direct.
“I want to trade for 75 pieces of charcoal.”
75 pieces of charcoal meant 5 electronic components. Based on a daily usage of 6 pieces, that would be more than enough to get through the coming days. Being able to produce that many at once, this person was clearly quite wealthy.
But Yan Lan had a cautious thought and didn’t complete the transaction immediately. “Why are you trading for so much all at once?”
“I’ve already upgraded to an off-road vehicle. The next level requires too many resources, I can’t gather that many anytime soon. So I might as well enjoy life. You know, live it up one day at a time.”
Yan Lan: “…”
She couldn’t really argue with that.
There were quite a few people who thought the same way. Going from a three-wheeler to an off-road vehicle was already a stretch, but advancing further became exponentially harder. So some chose to just kick back and enjoy themselves once in a while.
As a result, Yan Lan’s charcoal was exchanged at a blistering pace. In less than 10 minutes, 500 pieces of charcoal were sold out. Yet people were still asking about it nonstop.
Player: “Is it really gone? I was going to trade with electronic components~”
Electronic components held great appeal for her. Yan Lan reassured the anxious player: “Hold on a moment, I’ll make some right away.”
With the enhanced crafting table, production time was cut in half. Making one piece of charcoal took only 5 seconds, 15 pieces would be done in just over a minute.
When she sent them over, the player was astonished: “That was so fast!”
Yan Lan: “Of course~ I can’t keep my customers waiting, right~”
Player: “Awesome. You’re the best. Not like the Jin Gang, waiting in line there takes forever.”
Yan Lan: “Hahahaha~”
Two hours later, she was producing and selling simultaneously. The wood materials in both backpack slots had been completely used up. In return, she had acquired 80 electronic components.
She posted a temporary closure notice and went to find Shi Yuanyuan.
“Yuanyuan, are you there? I’ve run out of wood. How’s your trading going?”
Shi Yuanyuan quickly transferred the supplies he had traded for that day and replied: “Almost done with the last bit. But I have some bad news.”
Yan Lan’s heart skipped a beat. She had already run into too many bad things today. “What’s wrong?”
Shi Yuanyuan: “Now that it’s snowing, the roads are hard to travel. The snowpack is getting thicker, and the treasure chests and wood are getting buried deeper. It’s becoming harder and harder to find them. People have fewer and fewer supplies to trade. We need to be mentally prepared.”
He had already run into several people today who couldn’t even produce any wood. Back in the early phase of the game, there had been a piece of wood to pick up every kilometer along the road.
Yan Lan had actually anticipated this situation, but she didn’t expect the hardship to come so soon.
Players bought charcoal from her; she got wood from them to make more charcoal. That cycle had been a healthy one.
But once the players ran out of wood, her own stock would be depleted quickly. The days ahead would likely be very tough.
Her work for the day ended early. She sat cross-legged on her seat and took stock of her supplies.
Backpack slots one and two still held two giant wooden crates, ample food, water, and miscellaneous items. She set those aside for now.
Slot three: 100 units of gasoline.
Slots four to seven: upgrade materials, 450 metal, 400 glass, 400 rubber, and 95 electronic components. After just one more round of charcoal sales, she would be able to upgrade.
Slots eight and nine: 1,000 pieces of wood each. The last slot held the water collector.
She originally had 2,000 more pieces of wood, but her backpack was too full to carry them, so she had temporarily stored them with Shi Yuanyuan.
As for Shi Yuanyuan, helping Yan Lan had earned him a huge amount of commission over the past few days. He had also asked Yan Lan to craft him a large wooden crate to store his miscellaneous items.
The sky was growing dark. Yan Lan had Xueqiu stop the car and rest where they were.
Large snowflakes drifted down onto the windshield, quickly piling up into a thick layer of snow.
Thinking about how the snow on the glass had frozen solid as rock that morning, she let out a long sigh.
Ah, yet another problem that urgently needed solving.