Chapter 2: Level 1 Water Collector
1468 Words
“System?”
James Carter was momentarily taken aback, but his expression quickly brightened. If he had a system, it would make things much easier for him in the future.
“System, are you there?”
James Carter tried to inquire.
The system remained silent.
He continued to ask in his mind several times, but the system stayed mute, offering no response.
“Is communication impossible?”
James Carter speculated inwardly.
However, the most pressing matter now was to open the supply box and verify the system's accuracy.
James Carter approached the white supply box, inserting the flat end of his crowbar into the gap of the lid and forcefully prying it open.
With a creak, the lid of the supply box popped open.
The supply box flickered and vanished, revealing its contents.
A few bottles of mineral water and a nitrogen-packed whole grain bread fell to the ground.
James Carter hurriedly picked up the mineral water and bread.
The mineral water bottles only had the words "mineral water" printed on them, with no information about the place of production or the production date.
The bread packaging was the same, only stating "whole grain bread," with no other information.
Under normal circumstances, James Carter would never touch such unbranded products.
However, now that his stomach was empty and the churning stomach acid was making him feel miserable, he couldn't afford to be picky. He tore open the packaging and stuffed the bread into his mouth.
The aroma of the whole grain bread spread in his mouth instantly, as if it had just come out of the oven—sweet and soft.
He finished the whole grain bread in just a few bites, and the acid pain in his stomach eased significantly.
James Carter then twisted open the mineral water and gulped down half a bottle in one go, feeling much more comfortable.
Although he was still somewhat thirsty, he looked at the remaining half bottle of mineral water and carefully tightened the cap, storing it away.
He had no idea when he would find the next supply box, so he needed to conserve it.
Having found the first supply box, James Carter felt more assured and continued driving, his eyes scanning the road.
This time, after about 40 minutes of driving, James Carter spotted another supply box.
And there were two of them.
The two white supply boxes were placed side by side in the middle of the road.
“Two? Could they also contain bread and water?”
James Carter's eyes lit up.
He hadn’t eaten enough from the previous bread; with his appetite, he could easily consume at least four of those.
James Carter grabbed the crowbar and jumped out of the car.
Before he could act, the electronic synthesized voice sounded again.
【The left supply box contains a rat infected with bacteria; being bitten carries a certain chance of contracting the Black Death.】
【The right box contains a Level 1 equipment manufacturing blueprint.】
A big rat!
The Black Death!
Hearing these two terms, James Carter instinctively took two steps back.
He had heard of the infamous Black Death.
It was said that during the Middle Ages, the Black Death killed a third of Europe's population.
In an environment severely lacking medical facilities, where resources had to be collected by oneself, getting sick or injured could very well mean death.
Let alone the almost certain death that came with the Black Death.
Adhering to the principle of caution, James Carter chose to steer clear of the left box.
He carefully moved to the right box and used the crowbar to pry open the lid.
The supply box vanished, revealing a piece of parchment.
James Carter picked up the parchment.
【Level 1 Water Collector: The most basic water collector, capable of collecting 1-2 liters of water per day. The output will vary based on the environment.】
【Resources required for construction: 4 units of metal scraps, 2 units of metal parts, 2 units of glass shards.】
Seeing the description of the blueprint, James Carter's eyes lit up.
According to scientific research, the normal daily water intake for a person is about 2 liters.
If health is not a concern, it can be reduced to 1 liter or even less to sustain life.
This means that as long as James Carter builds this water collector, he can basically meet his water needs.
If he reduces his requirements a bit, he could even sell some of it to exchange for the resources he needs.
As a core player of simulation management games, James Carter understood the importance of establishing an early advantage.
As long as he laid the groundwork for an advantage at the beginning, resources would accumulate like a snowball, and his development speed would accelerate, allowing him to exploit others using his resource and technological advantages.
Now, the only question was how to obtain the resources to build the water collector.
James Carter's gaze lingered on the half bottle of mineral water he had left.
He returned to the car, closed his eyes, and concentrated, entering the game interface.
At this moment, the chat channel was still filled with complaints about why people had been selected for the road survival game.
A few early players were cursing the stinginess of the contents in the supply boxes.
“I just opened a supply box and got 2 units of glass shards. What good is this junk?”
“I only got a broken metal piece and was bitten by a big rat. Does anyone have tetanus medicine?”
“Wah, I just got 10 units of gasoline. Does anyone have water? Let’s trade; I’m dying of thirst!”
After lurking in the chat channel for five minutes, James Carter noticed that no one mentioned the manufacturing blueprints or the hint system.
“Looks like I’m quite lucky. If it weren’t for the hint system, I might be the one lying in the car waiting for rescue,” James Carter thought to himself, feeling grateful. He then opened the trading channel and listed the half bottle of mineral water.
【For Sale: 300 milliliters of mineral water.】
【Exchange for: 8 units of metal scraps + 8 units of metal parts + 8 units of glass shards.】
【Note: If you have other valuable items, please private message me.】
James Carter was asking for a high price mainly to give the other party room for negotiation.
Otherwise, if they offered other important resources to offset the price difference, he might not be able to build the water collector in time.
After posting the trade information, James Carter prepared to continue driving in search of more supplies.
However, just as he was about to start the engine, his gaze fell again on the supply box containing the rat.
“What if I take this box with me? Could I use it to ambush others at a critical moment?”
A thought suddenly flashed through James Carter's mind.
With a mindset of trying it out, he got out of the car again and walked over to the supply box, attempting to lift it.
The supply box was surprisingly light, and James Carter easily lifted it.
“Looks like it works.” James Carter's eyes brightened.
He carefully placed the supply box in the back seat of the car.
“If no one bothers me, that’s fine. But if someone is foolish enough to…”
James Carter glanced at the white supply box in the back seat of the car, revealing a cold smile.
After driving for about half an hour, James Carter spotted another white supply box.
“The supply box contains a roll of bandages and a sausage. There is no danger; feel free to open it.” The hint system provided another prompt.
James Carter pried open the supply box and found a sealed roll of bandages and a sausage about the thickness of a meatball.
Again, there were no brand labels.
Suppressing the urge to eat it, James Carter stored the sausage away.
His supplies were still limited, and he needed to save the sausage as emergency rations, not wasting it carelessly.
At the same time, James Carter began to gain a preliminary understanding of the game.
He had driven for about 2 hours and encountered 4 supply boxes in total. Excluding the one hiding a rat infected with the Black Death, the remaining three contained various supplies.
This meant that as long as he dared to drive forward, he would inevitably find some rewards.
Moreover, by communicating in the trading channel, obtaining the resources needed to survive was not a problem.
Unless one remained stationary, waiting for help from others, most people could endure the initial trials.
- Writer
