◎Copy Card◎
With sufficient materials, she could now upgrade.
【Consume Glass ×100, Metal ×100, Rubber ×100, Electronic Components ×10 to upgrade?】
【Yes / No】
Yan Lan willed “Yes,” and the familiar white light glowed.
When the light faded, a medium-sized off-road vehicle appeared before her.
At the same time, a system announcement rang out above everyone’s heads.
DING!
【Congratulations, player Yan Lan! You have successfully upgraded to the first off-road vehicle in Zone H-38. You have earned the title ‘Leading Vehicle Owner’ and been rewarded with one Diamond Treasure Chest.】
Diamond! A rare Diamond Treasure Chest!
This move had surely aroused envy, jealousy, and hatred among many players. Group chat messages kept “ding-donging” incessantly.
She simply closed the panel, set it to silent, and peacefully examined her new vehicle.
【Current Level: Medium Off-Road Vehicle LV3
Upgrade Requirements: Glass ×500, Metal ×500, Rubber ×500, Electronic Components ×100.】
The materials needed for the next level had doubled again. It seemed the higher the level, the greater the difficulty.
But that was okay, she had already surpassed most players. Yan Lan thought optimistically.
This off-road vehicle was silver-white, with bold, powerful body lines and an imposing presence, like a crouching tiger ready to pounce. It had a high chassis and large tires, even an amateur like her could tell this vehicle was hardcore.
She patted the off-road vehicle’s body, very satisfied.
Then she opened the door and climbed in. One look at the cool, futuristic interior, and she was conquered.
Oh my god, this was way too cool!
Luxury genuine leather seats, exquisite metal trim, impeccable cushions. What surprised her the most were the highly tech-savvy ambient lights inside. When the lights came on and dynamic music played, she felt like a trendy celebrity walking down a street in New York.
She curled up in the comfortable leather seat, squinting her eyes with a satisfied sigh: “This is amazing.”
【Ding, Treasure Chest Detector activated. Detecting for you now.】
“Oh, a detector?”
She leaned in closer. Besides the usual speakers, navigation, air conditioning, and vehicle information, the display now also featured a radar-like device, which was busily at work.
With this radar detector, she no longer had to keep her eyes glued to the road like before.
Next came the Diamond Treasure Chest awarded by the game. This was her first time seeing a chest of this level. The clasps were made of metal and diamonds, indeed much more premium.
She couldn’t wait to open it. Inside was a flowerpot, about 50 centimeters in diameter.
She couldn’t carry such a large flowerpot, so she got out of the car again and used a backpack slot to transfer the pot to the rear trunk.
The off-road vehicle’s trunk was connected to the back seats and was very spacious. It was more than enough for a small flowerpot.
As soon as the pot was placed, its description popped up.
【Magic Flowerpot: Plant a seed today, and tomorrow it will give you a tree.】
The description was quite impressive. Thinking of the ponkan seeds she had collected earlier, this was the perfect chance to try them out.
With a thought, the seeds from her backpack appeared in her hand. She used a piece of wood to dig a small hole, buried the seeds inside, and then sprinkled a bottle cap’s worth of mineral water over them.
After doing all this, Yan Lan got back into the car.
The upgraded off-road vehicle was very spacious. She placed some everyday items on the passenger seat, put on some built-in car music, kept the game chat panel floating, and set off again.
The engine roared, and a silver-white streak flashed across the road like lightning, disappearing over the horizon in the blink of an eye. Truly, with four-wheel drive, driving felt incredibly powerful.
“Congratulations, Yan Lan! You got the Leading Vehicle Owner title again.”
It took another 20 minutes before she saw Shi Yuanyuan’s message again.
Yan Lan smiled and replied, “Thank you. You deserve some credit for this too.”
Shi Yuanyuan: “Haha, you earned it yourself. And you’ve already helped me a ton with all those commissions.”
That was true. Yan Lan had always been someone who repaid kindness with kindness and grudges with grudges. If someone treated her well, she would return the favor tenfold.
The Copy Card was still valid, so Shi Yuanyuan set off once more on his treasure-hunting journey.
【Obtained Gasoline ×5】
【Obtained Fabric ×2】
【Obtained Frying Pan ×1】
【Obtained Metal ×1】
…
Supplies were trickling in. Yan Lan guessed that Shi Yuanyuan was still borrowing materials from others, letting the Copy Card take effect, and then returning them.
Even with borrowing and returning, trust between people in this resource-scarce game world was nearly zero. Putting this into practice was very difficult. She made a mental note of this favor.
Soon, the sky grew dark. She stopped the car and ended her day of treasure hunting.
As usual, she did half an hour of squat stance training and half an hour of boxing. Afterward, she was drenched in sweat. Having not bathed for three days and been on the move all day, a sour smell wafted from her body from a distance.
Fortunately, there was no one around, otherwise, she would have been utterly embarrassed.
She had plenty of mineral water today. She treasured each bottle, opening one and tearing off a few pieces of toilet paper, wetting them to wipe her body. Once she no longer felt so sticky, she changed into the underwear she had traded from Shi Yuanyuan the day before.
She couldn’t bear to throw away the old ones. She dampened the soiled areas with water, washed them, and hung them on the car window. The weather was good, they would be dry by tomorrow morning.
Dressed in clean, comfortable clothes, her whole demeanor instantly improved. The day’s fatigue was soothed. Yan Lan ate her dinner while taking stock of her supplies.
With the help of the detector, the number of treasure chests she found today had nearly doubled. It seemed that in the first two days, relying solely on her eyes, she had missed quite a few.
At the same time, the prop card had copied quite a few good items from Shi Yuanyuan.
After her final tally, the upgrade materials she had were: Glass ×30, Metal ×50, Rubber ×30, Electronic Components ×10.
Food: Mineral Water ×20, Purple Rice Bread ×10, Meat Bun ×10, Chicken Leg ×2, Packed Meal ×5.
Other items: Fabric ×5, Frying Pan ×1, Bowl & Chopsticks Set ×1, Socks ×2.
She picked out a few items and sent them to Shi Yuanyuan.
A reply came quickly: “That’s so much!”
Yan Lan: “This time, I owe it to you too.”
Shi Yuanyuan: “Hehe, then I’ll accept. Next time you have something this good, please count me in!”
He didn’t seem to have that strange vibe from the morning anymore. Yan Lan smiled and replied, “Okay.”
Shi Yuanyuan excitedly accepted the supplies Yan Lan had sent him. They were all food and water: Mineral Water 500ml ×5, Purple Rice Bread ×2, Meat Bun ×2, Packed Meal ×1. He wouldn’t have to worry about starving or losing health for the next two days.
After sorting out her supplies, Yan Lan moved on to making toilet paper. Among the nearly 10,000 players in the group, only about a hundred had ever bought her toilet paper. The rest were tagging her in the group chat, urging her to sell more.
“Yan Lan, do you still have toilet paper for sale? I found a banana on the road today, and now I have diarrhea.”
“Haha, how could there be a banana on the road? And you just ate something you found?”
“Don’t laugh at me. When you’re starving, you’d eat anything too. Who knew it would clear me out so badly?”
“LOL, bananas are known to clear you out, and it was a found banana! So are you still squatting over there?”
Yan Lan happened to see this and couldn’t help but laugh. She quickly replied, “Wait a bit. It’ll be listed soon.”
“How much toilet paper does Yan Lan actually have? It feels like she never runs out.”
“My guess is she’s making it from a blueprint. I’ve seen quite a few people find blueprints.”
“I have a blueprint too, but what’s the use of a blueprint without a crafting table?”
“Does anyone in the group have a crafting table?”
“No.”
“No.”
“Never even heard of it.”
…
From what she could see, no one else had a crafting table. Her own was not found in a treasure chest but obtained from the check-in system. It seemed the crafting table was a rare item.
After getting a general sense of the situation, she started producing toilet paper.
The off-road vehicle was very spacious. She sat in the back seat, with the crafting table and flowerpot right behind her, within arm’s reach.
Toilet paper took 10 seconds to make per roll. Working like a factory worker, placing wood, taking out toilet paper, she quickly produced 300 rolls.
Then she privately messaged Shi Yuanyuan: “Can you help me with something? I’m a bit overwhelmed.”
Shi Yuanyuan replied without hesitation: “Sure. What do you need?”
Yan Lan: “I just made 300 rolls of toilet paper. Help me sell them. Trade them for wood or upgrade materials. You get 1/20 of the profits as your commission.”
Shi Yuanyuan: “Wow! I can earn extra money after work? I’d be delighted!”
Yan Lan found this description very fitting, wasn’t it just earning extra cash after work? Even a dog wouldn’t be as busy as her.
Complaints aside, she went on to make another 200 rolls of toilet paper. These she listed on the Trading Center with a special requirement: she would only trade them for blueprints or other rare items.
After reading her announcement, most people went to bother Shi Yuanyuan instead. Very few came to her.
The first person to ask was still a girl: “Hello, how do I trade a blueprint?”
Yan Lan sighed. Hadn’t she written 25 rolls? Why did people still have to ask?
“One blueprint for 25 rolls.”
The girl: “Can you add a little more?”
Yan Lan: “No, sorry~”
The girl: “But my blueprint is very advanced and powerful!”
Yan Lan raised an eyebrow: “How advanced? How powerful?”
The girl then sent a picture.
Yan Lan stared at it and swallowed. It was a Water Collector Blueprint. Although it was single-use, its value was truly immeasurable.
Yan Lan: “Then what do you want to trade for?”
The girl: “25 rolls of toilet paper, and we split the profits from the water collector 50/50 from now on. I’ll watch you on the Trading Center, you won’t be able to cheat.”
Yan Lan: “…”
She was dreaming. Had she shown too much eagerness and let the other side gain the upper hand?
Even though she wanted it at first sight, she didn’t want to buy something only to have someone else hold half the control. So she deliberately ignored the girl.
“How about it?”
“You there?”
Just as the girl was asking until her mouth went dry, Yan Lan finally made a slow entrance: “Oh, I’m here.”
The girl was obviously anxious: “Have you considered it?”
Yan Lan: “Not really~”
The girl: “Then what do you want? This is already a great deal.”
Yan Lan slightly raised the corners of her mouth: “160 rolls of toilet paper. Direct buyout.”
The girl choked, clearly shocked. It took her a while to reply: “That’s too much toilet paper, I can’t use it all. Swap in something else.”
Yan Lan: “80 rolls of toilet paper and 80 pieces of charcoal.”
The girl: “What am I supposed to do with charcoal!!!”
Yan Lan: “But that’s all I have.”
Her most abundant material was wood. Wood could only be used to make toilet paper or charcoal.
Now it was the girl’s turn to be gloomy. She fell silent without answering.
Yan Lan wasn’t in a hurry. She even kindly reassured her: “It’s okay. You can also look for other buyers.”
The girl’s forehead began to sweat. If she could find another buyer, she could compare prices and wouldn’t have to beg Yan Lan to buy it.
More and more players were accumulating blueprints, but those who owned a crafting table were extremely rare. Currently, Yan Lan was the only one buying blueprints. If another blueprint with the same function appeared in the future, the value of hers would drop.
She gritted her teeth and replied, “Fine. Deal.”
It hadn’t met her expectations, but at least she had 80 rolls of toilet paper, enough for a year. In a pinch, she could trade them for other supplies.
As for the charcoal, useless as it was, she’d just keep it for now.
Over on Shi Yuanyuan’s side, sales were straightforward. The toilet paper sold out quickly. After finishing, he excitedly sent over the supplies he had traded for.
Yan Lan took one-twentieth as his commission, as agreed.
Shi Yuanyuan returned all the wood: “I have no use for wood. You keep it.”
Yan Lan didn’t stand on ceremony and readily accepted: “Okay!”
That night, she had traded for three blueprints: Water Collector, Men’s Underwear, and Women’s Underwear. Some players were still holding onto blueprints, either waiting and watching or waiting for a crafting table to appear.
She worked nonstop until 11 PM, exhausted. She laid the seat flat and quickly fell asleep.
At midnight, the scenery outside the road changed in an instant. The temperature plummeted, and many players woke up in the middle of the night, shivering from the cold.