◎Small RV◎
Yan Lan woke up early in the morning because of the cold.
She didn’t have enough gasoline to burn, so she had set the heater to turn off automatically at night while she slept. She had added more charcoal once, but it still wasn’t enough, it was unbearably cold.
She was curled up on the reclined seat, wrapped in two thick blankets, hugging a hand warmer that still had some residual warmth. Beside her slept Xueqiu, all fluffy and warm. He seemed exhausted from driving all day yesterday and was now sleeping soundly.
She stayed in that position and completed her check-in task first.
Today’s task was very simple, and the reward was simple too, a 1000ml thermos.
That capacity would be enough to last her most of the day. She planned to boil some water and fill it up.
Then she opened the game panel.
【Map: Icy Snowfield | Game Day: 3 | Weather: Rain/Snow | Temperature: 0℃ (Winter) | Time: 6:00 AM】
Sure enough, the temperature had dropped another 5℃ today.
0℃ was the critical point where solid and liquid balance, water freezes at this temperature. Yesterday the roads had been covered in thick snow; now, half of it had probably turned to ice.
When roads are icy, friction between the tires and the road surface is greatly reduced, making it easy to slip and lose braking control, which can lead to accidents. If someone gets out to pick up a treasure chest, it’s easy to slip, fall, and even break a bone.
With the arrival of ice, all kinds of troubles came one after another.
Yan Lan glanced at the group chat. The blueprint request she had posted yesterday still had no replies.
For driving on icy roads, she needed snow chains. To protect the vehicle, she needed a roof canopy. These were absolutely essential supplies.
She copied the message and posted it again in the group chat.
“Looking for vehicle snow chains and roof canopy blueprints, willing to pay a high price!”
Someone immediately responded, but not about that, they were asking about charcoal instead.
“Yan Lan, when will you have new charcoal in stock? I want to trade with electronic components!”
“I want to trade too. I was so cold yesterday my heart started palpitating.”
“Wuwuwu, I’ve got frostbite on my hands and feet. Does anyone have frostbite ointment? It’s so itchy! And my HP is starting to be negatively affected, I need medicine for frostbite.”
Yan Lan: “Charcoal will be listed soon. But really, doesn’t anyone have those two blueprints?”
“No, sorry~”
“If someone had them, they would’ve traded them for charcoal already. But why do you need those anyway? They don’t seem very necessary.”
Before Yan Lan could reply, someone else jumped in with an answer. But the familiar, snide tone made her brow furrow slightly.
If the chat group didn’t have that feature, she would have suspected Jiang Tiantian had set her as a special alert. How else would Jiang Tiantian show up to pick a fight every time she appeared?
It was only a little past 6 a.m., did she get up this early too?
Jiang Tiantian: “You just don’t get it, do you? Some people are very particular about their lifestyle. They have so many supplies they don’t care about that stuff. Not like us poor folks, we haven’t even solved our food and warmth problems.”
But this time, the players weren’t as easily fooled as before.
“If you don’t understand, then don’t run your mouth, okay? No one will mistake you for a mute if you stay quiet. Anyone who’s ever driven knows how important these two tools are in rainy or snowy weather. Snow chains prevent the car from skidding, and a roof canopy protects the vehicle from freezing over. These are essential supplies.”
“Exactly. You’re just yapping away, but you’re still copying her anyway.”
Jiang Tiantian was furious: “You, that’s nonsense! I’m not copying her!”
“Then don’t sell them when the time comes. If you do, you’re a pig.”
“Jiang Tiantian, do you dare to swear on it?”
“Jiang Tiantian, where’d you go? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Don’t disappear at a critical moment again.”
Jiang Tiantian hadn’t actually disappeared. She had been caught and scolded by Jin Buwei right there in the group.
Jin Buwei: “Are you out of your mind with nothing better to do? If you have that much free time, go find a few more treasure chests. Everyone else found four chests yesterday, but you only got two, and they were silver at that.”
“As the vice president of the Jin Gang, everyone worked together to help you level up. If you don’t contribute more supplies, how can you live up to the organization’s cultivation of you? Besides, even the regular members are contributing more than you. Aren’t you embarrassed?”
In the Jin Gang, aside from paying an entry fee, members also had to hand over a certain amount of tribute each day as collective property of the gang.
They pooled their strength to help the strongest player level up. Once that player leveled up, they could find treasure chests more easily and would naturally contribute more supplies in return.
Then they would help the next player level up, repeating the process to achieve mutual assistance.
Admittedly, there were some shady dealings going on behind the scenes. But when people were desperate and had nowhere else to turn, they would join for that glimmer of hope.
Jiang Tiantian shot a disgusted glance at Jin Buwei’s avatar, a muscular body with a small head like a gorilla, and swallowed her pride.
“Brother Jin, I didn’t mean to~ I wasn’t feeling well yesterday, and dealing with player complaints took up a lot of time. But everyone, don’t worry, I’ll definitely work hard to find treasure chests today.”
Jin Buwei: “I seem to remember you saying the same thing yesterday. But you can’t just talk without action. Everyone’s watching!”
Jiang Tiantian: “Brother Jin, I’m really, really, really sorry. I want to contribute more to the organization too, but you know… women have that special time of the month.”
Jin Buwei: “I don’t care about that. Especially as a manager of the organization, you must abide by its rules!”
Just then, Chen Shengsheng, who usually couldn’t squeeze out a word even if beaten, actually spoke up: “I can vouch for Tiantian. She really is too busy, she handles both external outreach and internal affairs. She truly doesn’t have much time to gather supplies. How about I cover her share from my commission? I have a high commission anyway.”
Jiang Tiantian: “Thank you, Shengsheng. You’re so kind.”
Chen Shengsheng: “It’s… it’s nothing.”
Jin Buwei found it hard to keep pressing the issue. “Fine. You two coordinate it yourselves. Just remember, the supplies collected will eventually be given back to you. Our purpose is to help the weak and achieve common prosperity.”
Jiang Tiantian: “President Jin is absolutely right. I’ll follow the president’s lead~”
After saying that, she immediately closed the chat panel. Want her to hand over more supplies? Not a chance!
Chen Shengsheng, her cash cow, was someone she had brought into the team herself. Not giving her a higher commission was bad enough, now they wanted her to contribute more? In her dreams!
Meanwhile, over with Yan Lan, after trading charcoal with several players, her electronic components surpassed 100, meeting the upgrade condition.
She couldn’t wait to click the upgrade button. With a flash of white light, the off-road vehicle seats beneath her transformed into a comfortable large bed.
【Ding!】
【Congratulations, Player Yan Lan! You have successfully upgraded to the first Small RV Lv4 in Zone H-38. You have earned the title of “Lead Vehicle Owner” and received a Diamond Treasure Chest as a reward.】
As soon as the system announcement was posted, the group chat erupted like boiling water.
“Wow! So the next level is an RV? I’m so jealous!”
“I want an RV too! No way, I’m getting up right now and grinding hard!”
“Congratulations, Yan Lan! And just a friendly reminder, after you finish touring your RV, please make some charcoal early. I still haven’t bought any yet, wuwuwu~”
“Haha, +1”
“+2”
For the first time, Yan Lan replied directly in the group chat: “I’ll be putting up 3,000 pieces of charcoal today. But everyone, please work hard on gathering wood too, I’m almost out!”
With that, she exited the group chat. Just as the players had suggested, she wanted to take a look around her new vehicle.
The moment she touched the RV, its description popped up.
【Current Level: Small RV Lv4
Upgrade Requirements: Glass ×1000, Metal ×1000, Rubber ×1000, Electronic Components ×200】
After reading the upgrade requirements, Yan Lan wasn’t particularly moved. She had expected as much.
With all the commotion, Xueqiu had woken up. Finding his surroundings completely changed, he was overjoyed, bouncing and flying around everywhere.
Yan Lan looked at him fondly: “Be careful, don’t bump your head.”
She threw off the covers, climbed down the ladder from the bed, and began to carefully examine this small RV.
It was a micro RV, short wheelbase, high roof, with a large overhead bunk, and designed for two seats.
The RV was 5 meters long, 1.7 meters wide, and 2.5 meters high. The floor area wasn’t large, but it had everything she needed, and it was much more spacious than the off-road vehicle she’d had before.
The large bed she had just been sleeping on was in the overhead bunk area, measuring 2 meters long and 1.5 meters wide. Under the mattress was a thick Simmons cushion, making it exceptionally soft to sleep on. After five nights of sleeping in a car, she finally had a real bed, and she was thoroughly satisfied.
Below the bed was the driver’s area, with two leather seats. The cab was open to the living space but could be separated by a curtain.
The interior served as both a living and dining area. On the right side was a sofa seat set, with a lift-up table in the middle that could be folded away and combined with the sofa to form a bed.
On the left side were a sink and a counter, which could be used as a kitchen area. Beneath the sink was a small refrigerator, where she could store the food she got from treasure chests. Above, on both sides of the interior ceiling, were storage cabinets, making full use of the space.
Further back was a small bathroom, about 1.5 square meters in size, equipped for both washing up and using the toilet. Inside, there was a water tank gauge showing a capacity of 200L, currently at 0.
Seeing this bathroom, Yan Lan was nearly moved to tears. After five days without a proper shower, her body was starting to smell. Finally, today she could enjoy a comfortable wash.
At the very back of the RV was a small balcony, 1.7 meters long and 1 meter wide. That was where her flowerpot and crafting table were placed.
The first pomelo tree she had planted was already one meter tall and had even grown a few flower buds. She had worried it might grow into a towering tree and pierce through the roof, but it seemed it wouldn’t grow much taller.
The crafting table was inconvenient to keep on the balcony, so she moved it inside. She placed the water collector on the balcony instead, where it could collect water continuously.
The balcony offered an excellent view, allowing her to see the snowy scenery on both sides. Yan Lan liked it very much.
She found the water tank inlet, filled the tank, and then returned to the sofa to prepare breakfast.
“Xueqiu, it’s a bit cold today. Let’s have instant noodles.”
“Jii jii~” Xueqiu happily rubbed against her face, never missing a chance to nuzzle her.
“Alright, enough with the cute act.”
Yan Lan pulled the little snowball away before it could stick to her face, then took two buckets of instant noodles out of her backpack.
On the kitchen counter was a stove. The moment she touched it, an icon appeared.
【Stove | Gasoline Remaining: 0】
It ran on gasoline. Yan Lan added 1 unit of gasoline, then took out a pot, filled it with water from the faucet, and set it on the stove to boil.
While waiting for the water to boil, she opened the Diamond Treasure Chest.
Inside was nothing but a single card. Yan Lan picked up the card and read: “Visitor Reception Card.”