Font Size:
Judging from how talkative the other person was, Su Xiao figured they must be quite young. Anyone daring enough to go on a self-driving tour through a desert abroad had to come from a well-off family and be fairly worldly—but their personality…
She thought of that gray-haired guy who drove a Ferrari and was quickly killed by his own Brother.
Yeah, dumb and rich wasn’t off the table.
Since the other party hadn’t guessed her real gender, Su Xiao saw no need to explain further.
She sent over a gas stove and a gas canister, along with a bucket of instant noodles.
When it came to these supplies, the stove wasn’t the valuable part—the gas canister was the real consumable. Even if she couldn’t trade it, she could still use it herself.
The ceramic pot still had greasy soup residue inside. There was no dish soap, and the slick film of oil made it hard for Su Xiao, with her slight cleanliness obsession, to bear. She tried a few things and then asked, “Xiao Mo, can you clean dishes?”
Xiao Mo replied, “Yes. Touch the item and say the command ‘Auto-Clean.’ This will automatically clean clothes, kitchenware, tools, and similar items.”
“Whoa, Xiao Mo, you’re amazing!”
Su Xiao’s eyes sparkled. Sure enough, after giving the command, the grease on the ceramic pot disappeared completely, and even the bloodstains on her filthy clothes were gone—they looked cleaner than they would from a dry cleaner. Of course, any tears in the fabric were still there.
Xiao Mo said, “I am the intelligent steward of the Safehouse. I can provide all smart assistance within the Safehouse for the owner.”
Su Xiao couldn’t help but exclaim, “Xiao Mo, having you is truly a blessing!”
If this weren’t a doomsday survival game, where would she ever find such an incredible housekeeper?
This time, Xiao Mo paused for a full ten seconds. “You’re welcome. It is my honor to be of assistance.”
【Xiao Mo’s Favorability +3%】
Su Xiao blinked in surprise—Xiao Mo had a favorability system?
But clearly, Xiao Mo had its own form of independent thought. Forcing it wouldn’t work; she’d have to take it slow.
Su Xiao opened the five black treasure chests sent by Turtle Hermit.
Iron Ingots ×2, Wooden Planks ×4, Fabric ×4.
A bit of a shame—she was still short by two planks.
After thinking for a moment, she sent the iron ingots and fabric back to Turtle Hermit. “I’m requisitioning the wooden planks for now—still short two. I’ll go to the Exchange Center to gather them. Once the weapon station is built, I’ll help you synthesize high-level weapons.”
Turtle Hermit replied, “No problem. Ah… this instant noodle smells amazing. You have no idea how cold it gets in the desert at night—freezing! I’m only wearing a windbreaker. This gas stove? I could sit here warming my hands forever.”
A bowl of hot noodle soup—he’d never realized instant noodles could taste this good.
After reading Turtle Hermit’s message, Su Xiao opened the Exchange Center. It was bustling.
Owner 1283: “Trading food and natural resources for gasoline, batteries, or other items. DM if interested.”
Owner 18930421: “Exchanging spare weapons for Safehouse expansion items. DM.”
Owner 28293: “Sewing machine blueprint for trade—looking for other blueprints, weapons, or excess fabric.”
Owner 8829334: “To those trading for treasure chest eggs—note that these can yield double resources. To avoid scams, ask the other party to first hand over equal-value treasure chest items. Even if they don’t give you the rest later, it won’t be a loss.”
…
Scanning through, most trades were item-for-item. Very few involved blueprint trades.
Su Xiao thought it over, then quickly posted a message—
S: “I have both black and white treasure chest eggs. I can open them for others, but will charge a handling fee. Priority trading with survivors who also possess treasure chest eggs.”
Don’t ask why she didn’t keep it a secret—these eggs weren’t something survivors could steal. Keeping quiet would just be foolish.
In a doomsday game, both the resources and the survivors who control them are crucial.
After thirty seconds, someone sent her a private message.
Owner 188112: “Do you really have food treasure chest eggs? I’d like to trade, but I’m worried you’re a scammer. I want you to give me the food from the chest first.”
Su Xiao responded quickly: “Sure. For each white chest, I’ll give you three units of water and food.”
Owner 188112: “What do you mean?”
Su Xiao: “Each chest yields 2 bottles of water and 2 food items. But I’ll only give you 3 of them.”
Owner 188112: “But treasure chest eggs give 4 items. Why only 3?”
Su Xiao: “Handling fee. Got it?”
Owner 188112: “You’re taking a 25% cut for opening a single chest? That’s outrageous! I could just trade natural resources with someone else!”
Without another word, Su Xiao blocked the person. No point wasting time with people who couldn’t make a deal. Sure, 25% might sound steep, but she had a monopoly on the function—if they didn’t like it, they could find someone else.
Soon, another person came along. They readily agreed to her terms and traded two white treasure chests for 2 bottles of white peach soda, 1 bottle of milk, a pack of chips, and 2 chocolate bars.
The person seemed surprised.
They had opened two white treasure chests before and only gotten 2 bottles of water and 2 food items.
Yet Su Xiao had just given them 3 bottles of water and 3 food items. What a great deal!
They thanked her immediately.
Afterward, Su Xiao used 3 food and water items to trade for two more white treasure chests from the same person.
Still no one wanted to trade for black treasure chests.
She was about to post another message when she realized the system had notified her: due to high traffic, each survivor could only post one message per day in the Exchange Center.
With so many people posting, her message quickly got buried. Few survivors had even seen it, and even fewer trusted her. Most probably didn’t even know what treasure chest eggs were.
Until a survivor named “Yu Yu Has a Tomorrow” reached out.
Yu Yu Has a Tomorrow: “Hello. You’re the one with both black and white treasure chest eggs?”
Su Xiao: “Yes.”
Yu Yu Has a Tomorrow: “I have a purple treasure chest egg. We could collaborate long-term. You let me open your purple chests, and if the blueprint from one of them is something I need and don’t have, I’ll get priority to trade for it.”
This was within Su Xiao’s expectations.
The other party sent another message shortly after:
“I’ll let you open all my black chests. For every 2 chests, you can take 1 unit of material—but I want you to give me materials from a specific category. I have 4 black treasure chests right now, and I need 6 units of plastic. Do you have any?”
Clearly, the person had thought this through. That’s probably why they messaged her last.
After thinking a moment, Su Xiao replied, “Sure. Can I ask what you’re using the 6 plastic for?”
Since the other party had blueprint eggs, it meant they had access to a variety of blueprint sources. And since they weren’t trying to scam her, it was worth establishing this connection.
Yu Yu Has a Tomorrow: “A small greenhouse for green plants—used for cultivating crops. You can grow things in it. Are you interested?”
Su Xiao was slightly puzzled.
The game had only just started, and people were already growing vegetables? Wasn’t it a bit early?
The other party explained: “Besides growing natural resources, you can also use it to cultivate special plants obtained from green treasure chests.”