Chapter 4: Chapter Four: Trade Trade

The chat channel was quiet for a moment, then it exploded.

Cheng Shuili's private message alert sounded off nonstop like exploding beans, and the system panel automatically popped up with over 999 unread messages.

"What's going on?"

She frowned and opened the most recent one.

【Tearful Macho】: Wuya Dalao, give me something to eat, I've gone three days without water (cry. jpg), I'll trade you my clothes!

Cheng Shuili almost choked on her own saliva.

She swiftly swiped away that message, blocked and deleted the sender, and then discovered an even more outrageous one.

【Little Puppy Online Waiting】: Wuya Dalao, you're so good at monster hunting, so cool! Can you give me a ride? My eight‑pack abs can serve as a pillow.

"What kind of monsters and demons are these..."

Cheng Shuili twitched the corner of her mouth as she opened the chat channel and finally understood the cause: someone had reposted the self‑heating hot pot photo she just sent to the public channel, and now the entire server knows Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji has a large stock of food.

Actually, she didn't need these people to spread the word.

Cheng Shuili shrugged; was it really that hard to guess?

Messages in the public channel scrolled by at lightning speed:

【Wise College Student】: @Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji, big boss, look at me! I'll trade two Vehicle Upgrade Material Fragments for a box of self‑heating rice!

【Tornado Destroys Parking Lot】: Wuya Lao Da! I'm your long‑lost sister!

【Fake Spinach】: Anyone have anti‑inflammatory medicine? My teammate is about to die! Please!

【Construction Material King Bro】: @Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji, I'll trade you a box of self‑heating hot pot for the golden supply crate slot.

Cheng Shuili squinted, ignored a few foolish and perverse messages, and lingered a moment on the message about Vehicle Upgrade Material Fragments.

She now has an upgrade core; she's only missing the fragments.

If she could trade for them, both the vehicle's safety and speed would improve dramatically!

Her food supply is sufficient for now, and since it's early in the game—the time when food is most scarce—only now are people willing to trade fragments for food.

Cheng Shuili didn't hesitate; she opened that person's chat window.

【Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji】: Too few, I won't trade.

Feigning restraint to catch.

After sending that, she closed the chat window with 【Wise College Student】 and stared thoughtfully at the previous messages.

She ignored the Tornado message outright, and the King Bro message was an even more deceitful cheap trick; Cheng Shuili sneered, putting herself in the other's shoes—if she knew the location of the golden treasure chest, she wouldn't trade even ten boxes of self‑heating hot pot!

What Cheng Shuili cared about most was the teammate mentioned by 【Fake Spinach】.

Humans are social animals; perhaps a lone wolf can't survive in later stages. But now... Cheng Shuili grinned; this lone wolf of hers is well nourished.

She hadn't expected these people could find teammates for a party so quickly.

Just as she was puzzled, a new message popped up in the public channel.

【Black Whirlwind Li Kui】: Song Jiang, Song Jiang! It's Li Kui! Li Kui! Your good brother! Contact me quickly!

Cheng Shuili suddenly realized these people had found real‑life friends to form a group, with a foundation of trust that made cooperation easy.

She is a workaholic and an orphan; normally she has no social ties and goes home alone, so she only now became aware of it.

The crappy company's manager still used this as an excuse to suppress Cheng Shuili, saying, "Since you go home alone anyway, you'd better contribute at the company for everyone," such a beastly remark!

Back then, Cheng Shuili was honest and diligent, working hard and conscientiously, only to be repeatedly squeezed by the manager!

Now, having died once, Niu Hulu Cheng Shuili spread her hands and silently vowed in her heart that if she ever saw the manager again, she'd give that fat face a hard slap!

After finishing her thoughts, Cheng Shuili reopened the chat page, and 【Wise College Student】 sent a few more messages.

【Wise College Student】: Boss, can I trade three for you? I only have three on hand!

Cheng Shuili hadn't replied for two minutes when he sent another.

【Wise College Student】: Wuya Dalao, could you be kind? I've been opening boxes all morning and got nothing edible! How about I add a baseball bat? That's also from my loot; besides that, I really have nothing else!

That message was followed by two more.

【Wise College Student】: Wuya Dalao, I got another! Four for a box, okay?

【Wise College Student】: Let me die clearly, Wuya Dalao.

"Yo."

Cheng Shuili let out a light laugh; she stepped away for a moment, and the person negotiated the price with themselves, so she examined it carefully before replying slowly.

【Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji】: Four fragments plus a baseball bat for a box of self‑heating rice. No other price.

The moment the message was sent, the other side's status changed to "typing...".

Sure enough, they had been waiting.

【Wise College Student】: Boss! Can't you give a bit more? I still have a teammate...

Saying that now is way too late; Cheng Shuili glanced at the person's ID and nodded silently—people live up to their names. She didn't reply; no need for words—ignoring them for a while makes the point clear.

Sure enough, within thirty seconds, a system notification sounded.

【Player Wise College Student has sent you a trade request, do you accept?】

Cheng Shuili opened the trade interface; the other side had placed four blue‑glowing metal fragments and a fairly sturdy baseball bat.

She checked the item description, confirmed it was fine, then took a box of self‑heating rice from her cart storage and placed it on the trade.

"Trade successful."

With the system prompt, four Vehicle Upgrade Material Fragments appeared in Cheng Shuili's inventory.

She couldn't wait to view the details of the item:

【Vehicle Upgrade Material Fragment】

【Description: Collect ten pieces to upgrade a vehicle once; using with an upgrade core yields better results】

Not bad, still six short.

Just as I was about to close the chat window, the other side sent a friend request.

「Player 【Wise College Student】 requests to add you as a friend. 」

Cheng Shuili has no need for friends, so she ignored the message outright. She squinted, used the chopsticks from the self‑heating hotpot to pick up a piece of potato, and—no kidding—so tasty!

Cheng Shuili ate while lurking in the trade channel; she also wanted to exchange six more pieces, and she upgraded the vehicle outright.

The trade channel refreshed its messages quickly; the items players lacked were not few.

【Road Survival Emperor】：「Looking for someone to trade food, anything edible works. 」

【Wish to the Sea Breeze】：「Trade trade, Rolls‑Royce car key, after going out just drive the car away, exchange for food, any food works, food‑bringers, come! 」

【Akk Steel Pipe Softening Water】：「Vehicle Upgrade Material Fragments for food! Honest trade, barter, mutual exchange. 」

Cheng Shuili raised an eyebrow and crouched down!

She directly opened the private chat with 【Akk Steel Pipe Softening Water】, the message was concise.

【Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji】：「How many? 」