Chapter 4: Day 2 of Desert Survival (2) — The Card Draw with Maxed-Out Effects

As the system notification sound rang out, three huge cards appeared in front of her vision, each about half a meter tall, glowing brightly—impossible to ignore.

The first card emitted an orange flashing light, with the back patterned the same as the basic copy card she had received before—a vine and flower design, with the game company’s logo on it.

Flipping the orange flashing card over, the front read: “You are the sky, you are the light, you are the one and only myth. This card is a Mythical Card. After 24 hours, you will receive an unexpected reward.”

Was a gift pack card really supposed to sound this mystical?

Yu Miaomiao looked forward eagerly to the second card, which shone with a sapphire blue light, and flipped its holographic image with her hand.

The sapphire blue flashing card read: “Gems are treasures sedimented over millennia. This card is a Treasure Card, requiring activation at a specified location.”

A treasure card—sounds pretty good.

The specified location written on the card—did that mean she had to go on an expedition?

Her eyes moved to the third card, gleaming with golden light. Could this one be even better?

Without hesitation, Yu Miaomiao flipped it open and saw the words: “Surprised? I’m an apparently ordinary card, but in fact, I hold great potential energy. Choosing this card means you will not have any card draw opportunities for two days, but on the fourth day, you will automatically receive the above two cards.”

The two cards were even drawn on it—tiny orange and blue cards, looking especially small inside this big card.

Yeah, right.

With nothing at hand and small beasts about to appear soon, how could she possibly wait four days?

Even if she could wait, her stomach surely couldn’t.

She hesitated between the remaining two cards for five minutes, until the system started giving a countdown reminder, and finally selected the first one.

Twenty-four hours—she could still wait that long.

After making her choice, the card interface disappeared immediately.

Thinking about how there might be similar cards in the future that look advanced but actually delay rewards, Yu Miaomiao tightened her grip on her backpack and decided she still needed to save resources.

Looking at the world chat channel, everyone seemed to see different cards. A small number of people had encountered the Treasure Card or the Mythical Card, but no one mentioned ever seeing that Potential Card.

Could it really be such a good card?

Even if it was, she’d at least need some basic supplies before she could afford to choose it.

While browsing the world chat, Yu Miaomiao noticed a small red dot appear on the chat interface—a notification for a new temporary message.

That red dot was so inconspicuous, mobile games should really learn from this apocalypse system.

The first few messages were ones she hadn’t checked that morning.

Some people privately scolded her for being selfish, others wanted to freeload her chicken wings, and some tried to trade ridiculous junk items. She didn’t reply to any of them, since the messages would disappear by tomorrow anyway, and she had no intention to respond.

The latest message was from the person she had traded scrap iron with earlier that morning.

『IsPipiThere: Hello, I got some scrap iron. I’ll trade it with you.』

Unexpectedly, this person was really trustworthy. Yu Miaomiao replied that she was there and initiated the trade.

In this world, trades could only be started if both parties spoke to each other within five minutes—this prevented many random, pointless trade requests.

Receiving the scrap iron, Yu Miaomiao felt a bit happy, after all, a simple workbench sounded very useful.

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: Thank you.』

『IsPipiThere: You’re welcome. If possible, I’d like to trade scrap iron for chicken wings.』

Huh? Is this person a chicken wing fanatic or something?

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: I don’t have much left either. Didn’t you get any food?』

『IsPipiThere: My gift pack today only had 1 bottle of water, 5 pieces of scrap iron, and 10 pieces of rubber.』

…Does the system expect this guy to eat rubber and iron?

But judging by how detailed he was, he probably wasn’t lying.

If going by the previous rate—4 pieces of scrap iron for 1 chicken wing—then for 2 chicken wings, he would need 8 pieces of scrap iron. So Yu Miaomiao replied:

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: But you don’t have enough iron to trade.』

She had just received the 1 piece of scrap iron he owed her earlier, so without hesitation, she opened the Item Synthesis Guide and tapped “Synthesize” next to Simple Workbench.

After placing her finger on the designated spot, a slightly longer rectangular table began constructing itself automatically under the effect of the building hammer. While it built, she checked her messages again.

『IsPipiThere: I can give you these 4 pieces now, and I’ll make it up to you later if I get more.』

Why was someone this obsessed with eating chicken? She still hadn’t decided whether to agree—it would mean he’d owe her 4 pieces this time.

After a minute, the workbench was finished. Yu Miaomiao walked over, and a new interface appeared.

In the center was a miniature of the Simple Workbench, and above it was a tab with categories: “Materials,” “Tools/Weapons,” “Life,” and “Tech.” Only the “Materials” tab had some basic crafting formulas—the other categories were all empty.

Around the miniature was an operational ring displaying craftable items and their required materials.

At the very bottom, a line of text read: Workbench crafting formulas can only be unlocked via Crafting Blueprints.

Crafting blueprints?

So can she understand that the Item Synthesis Guide contains synthesis formulas given by the system, while for the workbench, besides the basic material formulas currently visible, the others need to be unlocked only after the survivors obtain and use crafting blueprints?

Sure enough, Yu Miaomiao saw in the world chat that someone was exchanging blueprints for food.

This person was holding a crafting blueprint for a beginner-level fishing rod.

Most people chose to ignore this trade item, while a few said the exchanger was just messing with people’s minds by trading something useless.

There’s all kinds of things in this vast world, but Yu Miaomiao kept her guard up—if there’s a fishing rod, does that mean they might encounter lakes or something in the future? Or…

Could there possibly be an ocean world beyond this desert world? A sense of urgency arose, and she hurriedly began studying the workbench.

The simple workbench had some initial crafting formulas, mostly for materials, such as the ‘nylon cloth’ she needed.

Nylon cloth ×1: Plastic blocks (0/2), Linen cloth (0/1), Rubber (0/5), Fiber (0/2).

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: Can I trade 1 chicken wing for 2 scrap irons plus 10 pieces of rubber?』

At the moment, she didn’t know the use for scrap iron, so she didn’t want much of it, but rubber was something she really needed.

『IsPipiThere: I also want to trade rubber for some food and water. I don’t have anything else.

She only had three chicken wings left, trading one would leave her with two, which barely counts as a meal. Yu Miaomiao hesitated a long time before suggesting the trade.

Soon she saw someone in the world chat trading four steamed buns for one bottle of water.

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: Why don’t you trade for steamed buns? It looks like there are more buns around, and they’re more filling.』

『IsPipiThere: To be honest, I’m allergic to milk.』

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: The steamed buns the system gave contain milk?』

『IsPipiThere: Exactly. I felt something was wrong after eating the first one, then checked the bun’s description and confirmed it had milk. Fortunately, the reaction wasn’t severe. I later traded a half-eaten bun for less than half a bottle of water.』

A half-eaten bun? Can you even see that in the trading window?

Judging from the chicken wings she traded earlier, it seemed like the icon didn’t show the food’s condition, but the item’s description did indicate its integrity—though you had to tap on each one individually to see it. Yu Miaomiao made a mental note to keep that in mind.

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: Alright then, two chicken wings for your 2 pieces of scrap iron and 10 pieces of rubber. That’s all I’ve got.』

This person called ‘IsPipiThere’ didn’t say much either and simply replied “Okay” before sending over the trade request.

After completing the trade, Yu Miaomiao quickly used a bottle of mineral water to trade for four steamed buns.

The buns she received were still warm. Soft and white, they looked delicious. She took them out to check, then stored them back in her backpack.

She didn’t expect water to be this valuable in this Gobi world. Actually, Yu Miaomiao had always known water was scarce, but she hadn’t realized its value was this high. She was now considering trading water for nylon cloth.

She glanced up at the umbrella still offering decent shade, then touched the cool bamboo mat on the chair. Alright—she could still hold out.

After taking a sip of cold water, Yu Miaomiao, still holding up her umbrella, received another message from ‘IsPipiThere’.

『IsPipiThere: Are you working on a primitive workbench?』

The question was very direct, and Yu Miaomiao felt a bit uncomfortable. In a post-apocalyptic world, asking things like that was almost like prying into someone’s privacy.

Just as she was about to close the chat and ignore it, another message came in:

『IsPipiThere: Don’t get me wrong, I mean no offense. It’s just that I have a blueprint that seems to require a workbench to use. If you already have a workbench, could I use the blueprint and have you craft a tool for me in exchange?』

A blueprint? Now that caught Yu Miaomiao’s interest.

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: What kind of blueprint?』

『IsPipiThere: 【Stone Pickaxe Crafting Blueprint】』

When Yu Miaomiao lightly tapped the text, she was able to see the blueprint’s details.

【Name: Stone Pickaxe Crafting Blueprint (1/1)

Level: 2

Description: Learn how to craft a stone pickaxe upon use

Attributes: —】

So, you could even send item information like this.

Yu Miaomiao tried dragging the workbench in mid-air and hovering it over the chat box—it worked. She could now see the workbench’s details appear. But to her surprise, the moment she double-tapped a blank area, the information was immediately sent out.

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: 【Simple Workbench】』

『IsPipiThere: So, does that mean you agree to the trade?』

How was she supposed to explain that she had accidentally sent it?

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: I’m not sure if I have the materials needed to make the stone pickaxe.』

『IsPipiThere: That’s okay. After you unlock it, just check what’s needed. If I have the materials, I’ll give them to you.』

Yu Miaomiao didn’t expect “IsPipiThere” to be such a sincere person. Touched, she accepted the trade request, and the blueprint appeared in her inventory.

After using it, the system notification popped up:

【System Notification: Player ‘MeowMeowNotLackingWater’ has unlocked Stone Pickaxe Crafting.】