Chapter 179: Protective Umbrella

Cheng Shuili walked around the carriage interior, then turned to the sink that houses the sunroom.

Counting, today is already the third day since the strawberries moved into the new house.

Cheng Shuili stared at the shrunken strawberry plants in the sunroom for a moment; they were noticeably larger than two days ago and even bloomed, but…

Where are the fruits that were supposed to ripen today?

Cheng Shuili had a bad feeling—surely the famine hadn't made the strawberries she planted stop bearing fruit, right?

With a nervous heart she checked the plants' growth status.

【Strawberry Plant】

【Growth Status: Healthy (growth stalled due to current disaster)】

【Estimated fruiting time: after growth resumes!】

After reading the text, Cheng Shuili's vision went black; why does the famine still affect this?

This is a crop! It's the one she herself planted!

If even her own crops are affected by the disaster, then the survival environment for these survivors must be extremely harsh, right?

Cheng Shuili had previously planned, once energy stones were no longer scarce, to mass‑produce sunrooms and fill each with plants. All raw materials for cooking would be self‑produced, saving a huge amount of Game Coin spent on staple food, and the surplus could be sold to other players.

But now, in this situation…

Cheng Shuili sighed; what must be done will still be done, but the profit will certainly be cut by a large margin.

The fourth day of the famine arrived silently.

For Cheng Shuili, today is no different from yesterday.

Most orcs simply walked around their vehicles, showing great foresight. Occasionally a few short‑sighted orcs tried to rob her carriage, but Cheng Shuili and Su Rui beat them up together and threw them out.

The only thing Cheng Shuili still had was over six thousand Designated Player Duel Cards, which she couldn't sell today.

All the players who needed them have already bought them, so market demand is indeed low; to be precise, there is no demand at all now.

What is most urgently lacking now is food.

Let the Designated Player Duel Cards stay as they are.

Several members of the team originally needed this card for training, and later this card will definitely come in handy…

If the system hadn't released so many this time, where would Cheng Shuili find such cheap Designated Player Duel Cards?

She originally intended to keep some for her own people; now there are just a few extra left.

As long as she doesn't lose money, everything is fine.

After obtaining 001, Cheng Shuili completed all the trades that would have taken several days yesterday.

She had been worrying about profit sharing with Xinxue, but after discovering that 001 could handle it, Cheng Shuili confidently handed it over.

After gifting the relatively valuable items—Vehicle Upgrade Material Fragments, Vehicle Card, and blueprints—to Xinxue, Xinxue returned them to Cheng Shuili.

Her vehicle had just been upgraded; the next upgrade requires many Vehicle Upgrade Material Fragments, which she can't gather quickly. Moreover, the system just raised monster levels, so there won't be another increase soon, and she's not in a hurry.

Most importantly, Xinxue knows Cheng Shuili needs these items. Therefore, rather than letting them gather dust, she prefers to give them to Cheng Shuili.

As for the Vehicle Cards, Xinxue replied: "They're too valuable; keeping them feels wasteful. I'm used to trading with basic materials, so I'm reluctant to use or trade these cards; Lao Da should keep them."

001 saw this long message and malfunctioned, so it had to ask Cheng Shuili to answer personally.

Cheng Shuili guessed Xinxue was a bit embarrassed; after all, they originally agreed that Xinxue would handle the trade entirely, Cheng Shuili would only provide information, and the profit would be split fifty‑fifty.

This transaction made Cheng Shuili handle it herself; perhaps Xinxue thought this time the split shouldn't be fifty‑fifty?

Sometimes Cheng Shuili didn't know what to say; other teammates were fighting over a tiny profit, while they all modestly yielded to each other—truly…

"The moral level is too high, huh?"

Cheng Shuili muttered something, then suddenly felt something was off.

This guy was truly ruthless when he first started scalping; offending people, he'd be second to none in being called "the one no one dares to name first".

Morality?

Does she have any?

Cheng Shuili was silent for a moment, then realized this person was definitely being politely insincere with her.

Polite, huh……

Since Xinxue doesn't want them, she has to take them.

It's okay if the child is shy; losing a bit more will make them less shy.

Now they are all under Cheng Shuili's protective umbrella; they have no idea how dangerous the outside world is, and many things fall to Cheng Shuili's care.

Cheng Shuili shook her head; the road ahead is long and arduous.

Still, after thinking it over, Cheng Shuili gave those few automatic driving cards to Xinxue; this person loves to stay in the carriage and browse regional channels, and completing daily mileage is the most painful thing for her.

As for the issue that automatic driving cards cannot open supply crates…

Actually, when Xinxue drives herself she rarely opens supply crates; opening trash is a minor matter, but if a monster she can't defeat pops out, losing a life would be disastrous.

Moreover, under Cheng Shuili's leadership, she's already rolling in wealth, so she cares even less about the few resources that might come out of a supply crate.

The people here are harmonious, while the scene on the other side could be called a human hell.

Xiao Wang is a rank‑and‑file member of the official organization.

He must contribute 20% of his acquired supplies as public use; he was once dissatisfied, but since the refugees appeared, he has repeatedly expressed gratitude to the organization.

Xiao Wang is unlucky.

He was among the first survivors the refugees encountered; when everyone knew nothing about the refugees, they seized all the food on his vehicle.

But compared with other players who lost food, Xiao Wang is lucky.

The organization took its responsibilities, never abandoning or giving up; every meal, the organization provides Xiao Wang with free food.

Though it's just ordinary compressed biscuits and mineral water, as long as Xiao Wang can stay alive, there is still hope!

The organization not only supplies him food, but also tallied the number of people lacking Designated Player Duel Cards, saying they would purchase them uniformly and distribute according to need.

Of course, this isn't free.

A player who obtains a Designated Player Duel Card must later turn in supplies of equal value.

If they can't produce it now, they may defer payment for a while.

Xiao Wang thought, there's no food left in his vehicle; what could those orcs take even if they came back to raid?

He's now the barefoot who isn't afraid of those wearing shoes, so he has no use for a Designated Player Duel Card.

Things turned out just as he expected: each time the orcs would board his vehicle, scour it, and, upon finding no food, leave in a huff.

At first Xiao Wang still felt like mocking the orcs for their wasted effort, but the fourth day of the famine, which starts today,

Xiao Wang realized that something seemed off.