Chapter 10: Day 3 of Desert Survival (3): Talking Cooperation

『AThousandYearsLater: HonestyFirst is a scammer. He used all kinds of fake lookalike items to cheat me out of my cotton. Everyone, be careful.』

『ParallelLine: He scammed me on the first day too. Messages were moving so fast, no one saw my warning. He tricked me with a bottle of some N-liquid and stole my food. Doing this kind of thing in the apocalypse—he’s completely shameless.』

『HonestGuyDoesn’tTakeTheFall: To be honest, the system gave scam warnings on day one. If you still fall for it, you can only blame your own stupidity.』

That comment triggered an uproar in the world chat. But some did agree with “HonestGuyDoesn’tTakeTheFall.” The debate quickly escalated, with both sides standing firm.

Yu Miaomiao didn’t want to get involved in the argument—it was a waste of time. Anyway, that scammer’s username had probably been burned into everyone’s memory by now.

In this brutal apocalypse, without a judge or justice system, being scammed meant you could only swallow your anger—giving con artists all the room they needed.

She remembered something her best friend once told her: If you get hit, hit back even harder—not just to defend yourself, but to make sure they never dare mess with you again.

Yu Miaomiao began collecting information on the scammer “HonestyFirst” from the forum and world chat. She learned that he operated sporadically, using all sorts of tricks, even tailoring his approach depending on the target.

Now he had completely gone dark. No matter how much people cursed him, there was no response. A scammer only has zero times and countless times. From the moment he scammed her, she resolved not to let him off easy—not for her own dignity, and not for the others who might suffer later.

With that thought, Yu Miaomiao closed the world chat and checked the forum for more updates.

Yang Haotian’s strategy thread was still the most bookmarked and sat at the top of the forum. Staying current, he had even posted “HonestyFirst” on a dedicated ‘Apocalypse Villains’ thread. This move immediately won him a wave of support.

Reading through everyone’s comments and the new details, Yu Miaomiao realized that the half-hour delay before that scammer finally traded with her had likely been him swindling others for materials. Who would’ve thought he’d go to such lengths just for a bottle of water?

She exited the forum interface and quickly refocused. This is the apocalypse. Instead of obsessing over being scammed, it was better to prepare in advance for tomorrow’s survival.

That disgusting bottle of liquid? The system allowed it to be disassembled. Yu Miaomiao chose to break it down without hesitation.

【Failed to trigger luck trait. You received: 1 Plastic Piece, 1 Pack of Low-Grade Fertilizer. System inventory full. Item dropped on ground.】

Seeing the small, brand-new bag of fertilizer on the ground, Yu Miaomiao was genuinely surprised. Who would’ve thought something so disgusting from that scammer’s trade could actually be broken down into useful materials?

But it gave her a new clue—farming was possible in this apocalyptic world. Otherwise, the system wouldn’t hand out something like fertilizer without purpose.

Yu Miaomiao had originally planned to use the backpack expander, but after some thought, she decided to keep the only one she had as a completed product for commissioned work. That way, she could avoid the hassle of negotiating collateral.

Her backpack currently only contained food, and her stomach was starting to feel a little empty. Just as she was about to take out the Stir-Fried Pork with Chili over Rice to eat, she noticed its description:

【Name: Stir-Fried Pork with Chili over Rice (1/1)

Level: 4

Description: A delicious homemade dish, made with chili peppers and pork as the main ingredients, served with rice. Tasty and convenient.

Function: Restores all lost stamina upon consumption and increases total stamina by 1 point.】

Mantou was level 1, Spicy Chicken Wings was level 3 — their functions only mentioned replenishing lost stamina, with no mention of increasing total stamina.

When she had eaten the burgers before, she hadn’t paid attention to their level, but after eating two, her maximum stamina had increased by two points. Based on the level 4 label of this rice dish, she guessed the burgers must have also been level 4 food.

So, could it be that only foods of level 4 and above could increase total stamina?

Yu Miaomiao made a mental note to pay more attention next time she obtained food, and not to accidentally trade away any level 4+ items.

Sitting on the woven mat, a bit of coolness seeped through. She took the rice dish out of her system backpack.

The food container she pulled out was still steaming hot. The system had even provided a pair of chopsticks and a spoon attached to the side of the box.

Yu Miaomiao had always liked spicy food, and this dish seemed tailored to the general palate — mildly spicy, very flavorful, and perfect with rice. The green chilies even had a sweet undertone. She finished the entire box down to the last grain of rice.

Licking the oil off the corner of her lips, she set the box aside, intending to reuse it later — but the next second, it vanished into thin air. It seemed the system wasn’t going to let her keep even a single extra thing.

Looking at her personal status panel, she saw that not only was her stamina fully restored, but her total stamina had increased by 1 point.

There was less than a day left before the newbie protection period ended. At most, if she focused solely on making basic traps, she could craft 14.

But if she wanted to reserve materials for reinforcing the wooden hut, she could only make 10 basic traps — and even then, she still lacked 8 pieces of nylon fabric and 3 chunks of scrap iron.

She was far from having enough materials to craft nylon. Every material she had was hard-earned, and she didn’t want to trade any of them away again. It looked like relying on commissioned work was her best option.

Yu Miaomiao decided to continue posting commissioned work requests for basic backpack expanders in the world chat.

Soon, she received a new message.

『HuaBie: Hello, I’d like you to do a commissioned basic backpack expander for me. Can I pay with the 【Turtle Breath Technique】?』

【Name: Turtle Breath Technique Manual (1/1)

Level: 5 (initial level)

Description: Learn the Turtle Breath Technique upon use

Attributes: 】

Turtle Breath Technique?

Level 5 but still the initial level?

Although she didn’t know what learning this technique would do, as payment for commissioned work, she thought it was worth it.

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: Sure, if you have the materials, let’s trade now.』

The other party quickly sent a trade request. After carefully checking the three items, Yu Miaomiao placed her remaining basic backpack expander into the trade slot.

Once both confirmed, the entire transaction took less than a minute.

A new icon resembling a martial arts manual appeared in her system backpack, labeled 【Turtle Breath Technique】. Yu Miaomiao used it immediately.

【System Notification: Player MeowMeowNotLackingWater has unlocked the Turtle Breath Technique.】

At the same time, a manual icon appeared in the lower right corner of her vision.

Could she have unlocked a hidden feature of the post-apocalyptic game system again?

Opening the manual icon, there was a small figure meditating, with the words “Turtle Breath Technique” next to it.

Clicking inside revealed a richly illustrated and annotated martial arts manual.

This… the post-apocalypse even has this kind of thing? Could there really be cultivation storylines?

She looked at the first technique: “Concentration.”

【Concentration, which means adjusting the mind, is the preparatory technique of the Turtle Breath Technique… A point of true breath quietly flows in and out of the navel, unmoving. At this moment, the first step of the technique is accomplished.】

Below this long text were various small figure illustrations, teaching every detail thoroughly—how to exhale, every single movement.

Although she really wanted to try the effects of this technique, flipping through roughly, it was at least several hundred pages—definitely not something she could learn quickly. Right now, preparing for tomorrow was more important.

Yu Miaomiao walked back to the workbench, ready to make another backpack expander, when she received a new message.

Opening it, it was from an old acquaintance—“Pipi.”

『IsPipiThere: Hello, we meet again. How much do you charge for commissioned basic backpack expanders?』

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: The best payment is nylon cloth and scrap iron pieces. If not available, plastic pieces, linen cloth, rubber, and fiber are acceptable too.』

As time went on, Yu Miaomiao wanted materials even more.

『IsPipiThere: I have some scrap iron pieces, but not many. Is that all you accept for payment?』

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: What else can you trade?』

『IsPipiThere: We have some linen cloth, rubber, and fiber, though in limited quantities. As for other good stuff, there is a crafting blueprint—【Drilling Kit】.』

Drilling kit?

How could there be something like this?

Yu Miaomiao clicked on the item description.

【Name: Drilling Kit (1/1)

Level:

Description: Learn the crafting technique for the Drilling Kit after use.

Attributes: 】

Level 7 — that level is really high. The item sounds quite practical from its name, and Yu Miaomiao felt a bit tempted.

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: Can you really drill a well and get water in a place like this?』

『IsPipiThere: I don’t know. Since the level is so high, I haven’t dared to learn it. I want to save it to trade for something good. I originally had other materials too, but a damn scammer tricked me out of some stuff, so now this is all I have left.』

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: That scammer is called “Honesty First”?』

『IsPipiThere: Yeah, you saw the messages on the world chat. Sigh, I was too naive. My classmates didn’t blame me, but I feel really guilty.』

Yu Miaomiao wondered if the smoothness of their previous trades had made both of them less cautious, now there was a bit of a “misery loves company” feeling.

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: So from what you’re saying, your materials aren’t enough to make even one basic backpack expander?』

『IsPipiThere: I only have enough materials to make one, and that’s pooled together from my classmates.』

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: To be honest, in this apocalypse, I don’t want to take advantage of you. If you only need one, I won’t charge you so many materials for the commission fee.』

『IsPipiThere: That’s why I want to propose a cooperation deal with the Drilling Kit blueprint.』

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: Cooperation?』

『IsPipiThere: Yes. I see you unlocked the workbench early and can trade for supplies with just materials. You must have unlocked quite a few crafting recipes.』

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: Get to the point.』

If it were someone else saying this, Yu Miaomiao probably wouldn’t respond. But after several trades and chats, she knew ‘Pipi’ talked a lot but seemed harmless.

『IsPipiThere: There are 28 classmates in total who came to this apocalypse. I want to use this Drilling Kit blueprint as the commission fee for making 28 backpack expanders. Also, I hope we can share crafting recipes unlocked at the workbench in the future.』

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: What do you mean by sharing crafting recipes?』

『IsPipiThere: It means both sides share the crafting recipes they have and are willing to make public. If either side needs something from the other, we exchange one commissioned item for another.』

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: Sounds not bad, but thinking carefully, it feels a bit unfair to me.』

『IsPipiThere: Huh?』

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: Setting aside what exactly the Drilling Kit can drill, think about it: you have many classmates, so many materials. I’m alone. When you want something made, you’ll always find me to do it. Even if I want something from you in return, my materials will definitely never be enough compared to yours. That means I’ll always be doing commissions for you, and you’d constantly owe me favors. Otherwise, the cooperation would be really hard to sustain.』