Chapter 3: Intelligence and Crafting the Water Collector
1270 Words
After securing the third supply, James Carter returned to the car.
This time, he didn’t hit the road immediately.
Having driven for two hours straight and searched for supplies, he felt mentally drained and needed a moment to rest.
Using this time, James Carter closed his eyes and opened the game interface, preparing to check how his half bottle of mineral water was selling.
Upon summoning the game interface, James Carter was startled to find hundreds of people trying to communicate with him.
His private messages had already exceeded 99+.
“Hey, where did you get that mineral water?”
“I’m about to die of thirst; can you spare me a bottle?”
“Give me the water, and I’ll pay you 1 million when we get out.”
James Carter scrolled through the messages, most of which were worthless requests, and deleted them without hesitation.
A small number of people had obtained some resources and wanted James Carter to lower his price.
However, the resources they had were far too meager.
They didn’t match James Carter’s psychological price point.
Fortunately, James Carter wasn’t worried about not being able to sell his water.
On this road flanked by deserts, water was the most precious resource; no one would complain about having too much of it.
At worst, he could wait until nightfall; someone would eventually gather enough resources.
Just as James Carter was about to close the game interface and continue his search for supplies, a new private message suddenly came in.
“Hello, I have some relevant resources, though the quantity is a bit lacking. However, I have other items to fill the price gap. Can we discuss this in detail?”
“How many relevant resources do you have?”
James Carter replied.
“5 units of broken glass, 6 units of metal scraps, and only 3 units of metal parts,” the other party quickly responded.
Fortunately, that was enough to construct the water collector.
James Carter let out a sigh of relief.
Since he had reached his basic goal, he was determined to finalize this trade.
Now, the only thing left to see was how much the other party was willing to offer to fill the gap.
“What do you plan to use to make up the difference?”
James Carter rubbed his hands together and inquired.
The other party sent a screenshot.
【Lightweight Tire Manufacturing Blueprint: Level 1 Tire Manufacturing.】
【Requirements: 20 units of low-grade rubber, 20 units of metal scraps, 16 units of metal parts.】
【Effect: Reduces fuel consumption by 30%.】
Seeing this blueprint, James Carter's eyes lit up.
The lightweight tire didn’t seem like a survival resource and wouldn’t be of much use in their current situation.
But in the long run, it was definitely a game-changer.
After all, each of them started with only 200 units of gasoline.
How long would that 200 units last?
At a cruising speed of 30 mph, it would last for nearly seven hours.
If they couldn’t obtain new gasoline within those seven hours, their car would become immobile.
In a place like this, being immobile equated to a slow death.
Reducing fuel consumption by 30% would give them over two extra hours of exploration time.
One supply box could determine life or death, let alone two hours.
The sooner this item was used, the greater the benefit.
It was practically a guaranteed profit.
“Sure,” James Carter replied, suppressing his excitement.
“You should know the value of this blueprint. If it weren’t for my sister being injured, I wouldn’t be offering it. You must include a medical resource for treating external wounds; otherwise, I can’t agree to this trade.”
The other party quickly replied with a long string of messages.
Seeing the response, James Carter lightly tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, weighing the pros and cons of the trade.
He had medical resources for treating external wounds.
Moreover, with the hint system, he could easily avoid risks and would likely not get injured.
Thus, the bandage would probably end up gathering dust in his hands.
It would be a good deal for trading.
However, one piece of information in the other party's reply piqued his interest.
“You mentioned your sister earlier. How did you get in touch with her? Are you together? Same car or different cars? How was she injured? If you can tell me these details, I can trade with you.”
To strengthen his persuasive argument, James Carter took a photo of the bandage and sent it over.
【Hemostatic Bandage: Used for dressing wounds, coated with a medicinal agent that can reduce inflammation, kill bacteria, and promote wound healing.】
After sending the message, there was silence from the other side.
However, James Carter wasn’t worried that the trade would be affected.
Medical resources were the third most important resource after food and water.
Aside from himself, who had the hint system to avoid risks, no one could guarantee they wouldn’t get injured.
A medical resource was like a protective charm; it could save one’s life in critical moments.
James Carter believed that at least for now, no one would be willing to sell such resources.
Taking advantage of the pause, James Carter glanced at the name of the person who had messaged him.
It was a girl named Emma, and she looked quite young.
As expected, just as James Carter anticipated, three minutes later, the other party sent a reply.
“Actually, there’s nothing much to tell you. My sister and I were both selected for the game at the same time. Fortunately, we weren’t far apart and successfully reunited. These supplies were gathered by the two of us. My sister was injured when opening a supply box that contained explosives; this lightweight tire manufacturing blueprint came from that box.”
“Explosives?” Hearing Emma’s explanation, James Carter was taken aback.
He had initially thought the dangers in the supply boxes were just mad dogs or big rats; he never expected there would be explosives.
What if someone wasn’t careful? It could easily cost a life!
At the same time, James Carter felt deeply grateful for his luck; if he hadn’t bound the hint system, he might have fallen victim in front of the box with the big rat.
“Can I ask what color the box was?” James Carter pressed on.
“It was a Level 2 supply box, blue,” Emma replied.
“Does that mean the higher the level of the supply box, the greater the danger it contains?” James Carter noted this hypothesis and then proceeded to trade with Emma.
He exchanged half a bottle of water and a roll of hemostatic bandage for the resources to craft the water collector and the lightweight tire blueprint.
After the trade was completed, James Carter immediately switched to the crafting page.
【Detected blueprints: Level 1 Water Collector, Lightweight Tire.】
【Level 1 Water Collector materials are complete. Would you like to craft it?】
“Craft!”
With a buzzing sound, the blueprints and resources transformed into a pool of liquid and vanished. Moments later, a bottle-like object appeared in James Carter's hands.
【Level 1 Water Collector: Can collect 1-2 liters of pure water every 24 hours. Output may fluctuate based on external conditions. Place it in the car to activate. Can be upgraded.】
【Upgrade materials: 1 Level 2 Water Collector blueprint, 8 units of metal ingots, 4 units of metal parts, 4 units of glass.】
- Writer
