The importance of water needed no explanation.
Not everyone had been lucky enough to spawn in forests or mountain regions like Lin Mao.
Many people had appeared in deserts or barren wastelands where water was almost impossible to find.
In the apocalypse—
Water was life.
A person could survive seven days without food.
But without water?
Three days at most.
More importantly, Lin Mao was only asking three questions in exchange for the water.
There was practically no risk involved.
The moment his offer appeared in the communication channel, the responses exploded instantly.
“Boss, pick me! I haven’t had water in three days!”
“Handsome little brother, I can answer anything you want~ Choose me!”
“I have weapons and equipment! Please trade me some water!”
Lin Mao calmly filtered through the useless messages.
After looking through them carefully, he finally selected a seemingly reliable username:
Old Soldier Mercenary Group
“You need water?” Lin Mao asked directly.
“Yes,” the other side replied almost instantly. “We spawned in a desert region. Our water supply is running low. If possible, we’re willing to tell you everything we know.”
“A desert region?” Lin Mao narrowed his eyes. “Have you discovered any other areas? Or is your region particularly large?”
“Does that count as a question?”
“…”
Lin Mao didn’t respond.
He simply waited silently.
He had no interest in explaining himself.
If this group refused, he could easily find someone else.
A few seconds later, the mercenary group gave in.
“Fine. We’ll count it as a bonus.”
“We haven’t discovered any other regions yet. Just searching for water has already taken us half a month.”
“The area is enormous. Bigger than the Tibetan plateau back in the old world.”
Lin Mao nodded thoughtfully before continuing.
“How many people arrived together with you? And in what form?”
“Twenty people,” the mercenary group replied. “Our entire stationed squad was transported here together.”
So it wasn’t just school classes that had been transferred.
Military units, organizations, and other groups had all been brought over as complete teams.
That meant some factions would possess terrifying combat ability from the start.
Groups like this—
Were dangerous.
Lin Mao silently made a mental note to stay cautious around organized forces.
“Last question,” he said. “How much do you know about the Blood Moon?”
“The Blood Moon…” the mercenary group hesitated slightly before replying.
“We don’t know much either.”
“We only know that the Blood Moon usually lasts around half a month.”
“It only ends when the ruler of the Blood Moon either loses interest… or dies.”
The transaction completed.
Lin Mao directly sent over two bottles of mineral water.
Just as he was about to close the chat, the mercenary group sent another message.
“Do you need equipment?”
“We have professional military gear available for trade,” the other side added quickly. “Everything is clean and undamaged. You can inspect the goods first.”
Several photos were immediately sent over.
Tactical boots.
Combat vests.
Protective goggles.
Military helmets.
The entire set looked almost brand new.
Without hesitation, Lin Mao made an offer.
“How many sets do you have? I’ll take all of them.”
“One bottle of water per piece.”
The mercenary group replied immediately:
“Three complete sets!”
“Deal.”
Lin Mao directly transferred twenty-one bottles of water.
The moment the trade completed, three full military gear sets appeared before him.
The camouflage uniforms looked exactly like the photos.
“Li Ruyue.”
Lin Mao picked up one of the sets and tossed it outside the cave.
“Wear this for now. If it doesn’t fit properly, adjust it yourself.”
Afterward, he continued browsing the communication channel.
Soon, a particular message caught his attention.
…
“Any handsome guys willing to support our shelter with food? We’re all girls here~ Maybe we can get to know each other better once we meet offline~”
The message flashed briefly before disappearing into the endless flood of chat spam.
Messages like this were everywhere in the current apocalypse.
But what amused Lin Mao was how different Song Leyi acted online compared to reality.
The girls inside the shelter probably had no idea—
They had already become bargaining chips for Song Leyi to trade away.
Thinking of that, Lin Mao suddenly got an idea.
With a grin, he opened a private chat with Song Leyi.
“Do you need food?”
Her reply came almost instantly.
“That’s right, little brother~ We have thirty-one female students in our shelter. We really need a kind and handsome guy like you to help us.”
“If we’re close enough, maybe we can even meet in person~”
Several photos followed immediately afterward.
All of them were secretly taking photos of female classmates sleeping inside the shelter.
Most of them still looked relatively clean and presentable.
Clearly, Song Leyi had prepared these pictures ahead of time.
Lin Mao nearly laughed out loud.
“No problem,” he replied calmly. “In the apocalypse, everyone should help each other.”
“I’ll show you what food I have first. See if there’s anything you need.”
“Okay okay~”
“Little brother, you’re so kind!”
“Where are you located? Maybe we can cooperate together~”
“Men and women working together always makes survival easier~”
“I’m sure you’re handsome and kind in real life too. Unlike certain peop—”
Her sentence abruptly stopped.
Because Lin Mao had already sent the photo.
Inside the image—
A steaming pot of braised beef instant noodles sat beside mountains of Wuchang rice bags and piles of bottled water.
Before the apocalypse, it would’ve looked like an ordinary grocery warehouse.
But now?
Those supplies were strategic resources.
A few kilograms of rice could buy a person’s life.
Gold, jewelry, luxury—
All of it had become worthless compared to food.
And standing beside the supplies—
Was Lin Mao himself.
Smiling faintly at the camera.
“Don’t worry,” Lin Mao replied with a grin.
“I think I’m pretty handsome and kind too.”
“No need to thank me.”
“Oh, and by the way—”
“I only wanted to show you the food.”
“I never planned on giving you any.”
The moment he finished speaking—
Lin Mao instantly blocked her.
Leaving Song Leyi raging helplessly on the other side.
…
Inside the old shelter, Song Leyi stared furiously at the translucent system interface before her.
The image of braised beef noodles and bags of rice still flickered on the screen.
And in the corner—
Lin Mao’s mocking smile looked especially hateful.
“That bastard!”
Song Leyi slammed her fist against the stone wall.
“He did that on purpose! He absolutely did it on purpose!”
Her chest rose and fell violently.
Her mind filled entirely with Lin Mao’s smug expression.
The moment she imagined Wen Rou and Li Ruyue currently eating well and living comfortably beside him—
Her anger intensified even more.
“Li Ruyue, that fake innocent bitch…”
“She said she hated me?”
“She clearly just saw that Lin Mao had food and superpowers and immediately rushed over to lick him!”
“What a shameless slut.”
“Leyi…”
A weak voice suddenly came from beside her.
Her best friend, Wang Tingting, curled weakly in the corner.
Her face was pale yellow.
Her lips were cracked and dry.
“I… I’m so hungry…”
“Can you give us a little more food?”