Hearing the system announcement, Qi Xu knew her gamble had paid off!
“Honored guest, you’re not hurt, are you? Boohoo, no one has ever been this good to Taotao.”
Qi Xu gave a slight shake of her head. “It’s only right. I’m heading off now. Until fate brings us together again.”
“Goodbye, honored guest! Taotao wishes you a smooth journey!”
With the most ladylike, graceful motions she could muster, Qi Xu picked up the corpse and severed head from the ground and tossed them into the black mist beside the highway.
Only after watching the White-and-Pink Two-Tailed Fox head back into the shop did she breathe a sigh of relief. Good grief, all her hard work had nearly gone down the drain—thank goodness she thought fast!
Qi Xu scanned the off-road vehicle and heaved a deep sigh. Why couldn’t this guy have shown up a little earlier?!
“Hello, Scrap Recycler. The brand-new military off-road vehicle submitted for sale has 5% wear, no damaged parts, and 1 scratched or dented spot. The appraised price is 289 Survival Coins. Confirm sale?”
Qi Xu tapped confirm!
Just like that, another 289 Survival Coins landed in her account! Counting the 60 Survival Coins she already had left, she was up to 349 Survival Coins…
Qi Xu badly wished the White-and-Pink Two-Tailed Fox would come back out for one more look at her—maybe then she’d get a chance to buy that Fully Automatic Mechanical Arm…
Too bad re-entry was forbidden after leaving any stop. Still, like the saying went, contentment brought happiness—today’s haul was already plenty generous.
Qi Xu hopped straight onto her tricycle and set off.
She wasn’t sleepy at all anymore—in fact, she was wide awake and buzzing with energy.
First, she pulled out the Level-Three Vehicle Upgrade Card!
She checked the requirements for upgrading to a level-three vehicle.
“Iron Block ×20 (11/20), Rebar ×8 (0/8), Glass ×10 (11/10), Fully Automatic Solar Charger ×1 (1/1), Electronic Control System Component ×1 (0/1), Battery ×30 (8/30).”
Different vehicles had different upgrade requirements. Qi Xu had driven a gas car in her previous run, so she was only just finding out that electric vehicles needed this many batteries to hit level three…
She already had the solar charger, though that electronic control system was another rare, valuable find.
Iron blocks and rebar were easy enough—she could trade for plenty in the Trading Hall. There was no rush on those two; she could wait until she had everything else before trading for them. If she happened to pull some from crates in the meantime, it would save her the trouble.
Glancing at her remaining 6 units of gasoline, Qi Xu dropped a quick message in the group chat: “Trading gasoline for batteries. DM if interested.”
“Whoa, the big shot drives an electric vehicle? There’s hope for us EV folks again!”
Qi Xu opened her private messages… and had to laugh out of sheer exasperation.
A one-to-one exchange rate? Did these people take her for an idiot?
One unit of battery was good for 50 kilometers, while one unit of gasoline could cover 110 kilometers.
On top of that, their crate drop rates weren’t the same either—batteries turned up easily, whereas gasoline was noticeably rarer.
Qi Xu blocked everyone trying to play her for a fool.
Free Bird: “I don’t need gasoline. Can I trade 4 batteries for food?”
Qi Xu replied, “Sure. A Zinger burger, fries, Original Recipe chicken, and a cola—four items, unpacked. Work for you?”
Free Bird: “More than works! I desperately need high-calorie food like that. Thanks!”
Right as that trade wrapped up, Retired Magical Boy sent a message too.
“Big shot, got any gasoline left? Anytime you’ve got gasoline from now on, come trade with me, yeah? My vehicle’s a total gas guzzler! I only have one battery, but I’ve got this thing—bet you can use it. [Image]”
Qi Xu tapped the image open—unreal. The Electronic Control System Component she’d expected to wait ages for had fallen right into her lap just like that…
Qi Xu sent all six units of gasoline straight over, tossing in a burger, a cola, and fries on top.
The family bucket came with plenty of food, and since Qi Xu was already constipated and bloated, she didn’t really dare eat greasy fast food like this right now.
There was no way that Electronic Control System Component had come out of a wooden supply crate, though Qi Xu didn’t pry into the details. Everyone had their own lucky breaks.
Retired Magical Boy: “Abababa! God, I’ve been craving a bite of this! And it’s still hot?! Burned my mouth—holy shit, this hits the spot!”
That remark about it being “hot” reminded Qi Xu.
She hurried to fuse the Inventory Stasis Slot she’d bought at the monster shop with her inventory backpack, then stashed the KFC family bucket and the supreme pizza inside.
There were 10 Inventory Stasis Slots, and once fused with her inventory backpack, any food stored in them remained suspended in stasis—coming out at the exact temperature it went in, never cooling down or spoiling.
That worked out perfectly. Once China’s Little Master Chef sent over the cooked dishes, she could store them in her inventory backpack too.
At this point, her vehicle upgrade was only short Battery ×17, Rebar ×8, and Iron Block ×9.
Qi Xu opened the Trading Hall first and filtered for listings involving those three materials.
She traded drinking water and compressed biscuits to finish off the iron blocks, then swapped a pair of roasted wings and four drumettes for 4 batteries.
As for rebar, she came up completely empty—nobody had listed any for trade.
China’s Little Master Chef sent a message over, though: “I’ve got all the ingredients prepped and sorted, and I’m firing up the wok now. Will you be free to receive the food shortly?”
Invincible Black Whirlwind: “Yeah, I’m free. Today you can just send each dish over as soon as it’s done.”
China’s Little Master Chef caught on right away—this guy must have pulled a Stasis Storage Item. Heh, I’ve got one too, though.
“No need for all that trouble. I have a Stasis Storage Item too, so I’ll just send everything over together once I’m done.”
“OK!”
Next, Qi Xu checked in with Peppy Girl Guo Degang: “How much green fur have you gathered?”
Peppy Girl Guo Degang replied in seconds.
“218 pieces. Donut still has 12 on her, but she’s a nightmare to deal with—I couldn’t talk her down and already wasted ages trying. Her asking price is way too high, not worth it.”
Invincible Black Whirlwind: “Got it, leave hers then. This much is plenty. Thanks for the hard work.”
[Peppy Girl Guo Degang has sent you a gift. Accept?]
“Accept!”
After receiving the 218 pieces of green fur, Qi Xu sent back an egg tart, a tub of mashed potatoes, a cob of corn, and two drumettes—finishing off the first family bucket right on the dot.
For lunch, China’s Little Master Chef sent over four fist-sized rice balls stuffed with pork floss, ham, braised meat, and diced cucumber. They looked pretty plain, yet tasted phenomenal.
Qi Xu polished off all four on the spot.
She couldn’t help letting out a heartfelt sigh—being able to eat her fill and eat well every single meal felt incredible.
Before her Boost Pack wore off, China’s Little Master Chef also sent over all the rest of the agreed-upon dishes.
[Player China’s Little Master Chef has sent you a gift. Accept?]