Chapter 9: Day 3 of Desert Survival (2) She Was Tricked, Or…

『EssentialBalm: Everyone’s trading food resources right now, but she only wants blueprints. Looks like she’s determined to profit off us with this commission crafting thing. No—she’s trying to hoard the very resources we rely on to survive.』

『ThreeStraws: That’s not necessarily fair. Trades are voluntary between both parties. Nothing wrong with that.』

Yu Miaomiao glanced at the world chat. Her mindset wasn’t affected by their comments at all. She figured that those who actually had crafting materials were still a minority—maybe things would be better by tomorrow.

Just as she was about to study the system-issued items more carefully, a red dot popped up in the chat window.

『IsLuluThere: Hello, can I trade materials with you for some food resources?』

She’d received similar messages from others, and had ignored them all. But seeing this familiar username, Yu Miaomiao decided to reply.

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: I only posted that I’m offering to craft Basic Backpack Expansions. You messaged the wrong person.』

『IsLuluThere: I didn’t message the wrong person… My classmates won’t trade these things with me. I saw that you only ask for blueprints and materials as commission, so I figured… you probably aren’t short on food.』

Lulu’s classmates refused to trade with her—just like Pipi had said. They probably didn’t want her using everything to support her brother again.

But that had nothing to do with Yu Miaomiao. To her, Lulu was just another fair-trade netizen in this apocalyptic survival “game.” Judging from her tone, it seemed like Lulu had a decent amount of materials.

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: What kind of materials do you have?』

『IsLuluThere: I’ve got 8 units of fiber, 2 pieces of linen cloth, 2 pieces of nylon fabric, and 4 plastic blocks.』

Yesterday, Lulu also had nylon fabric, and now she had more. Could it be that the things she drew from the card pack were mostly this type of material? Nylon was especially needed for reinforcing shelters.

Yu Miaomiao thought for a moment before replying:

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: If you’re willing, I’d like all of it. But I can only offer bottled water in exchange.』

『IsLuluThere: Could I trade all of it except the linen cloth for one bottle of water?』

Uh—Yu Miaomiao had expected to give 1.5 bottles for those materials, but Lulu only asked for one. Of course, she happily agreed.

After the trade was completed, Yu Miaomiao received a grateful message from the other party.

『IsLuluThere: Thank you so much! This water basically saved my life. If you ever need anything, just ask me anytime—I will do my best to help.』

Saved her life?

At this moment, Yu Miaomiao finally realized how much more valuable water was than she had imagined. She didn’t reply to the message again, and the two of them didn’t add each other as friends. Whether they would interact again in the future was another matter.

Looking at all the items now scattered on the ground, she felt a bit worried.

Yu Miaomiao considered using a Basic Storage Box to store her current items. She checked the description behind the crafting button: “Can store 20 item slots. Storage boxes can be password protected and cannot be moved.” After some thought, she temporarily gave up on this idea.

At first glance, the storage box seemed like a great item—password protection meant no one could take her things at will, and the inability to move it didn’t seem to matter much at this stage.

However, the materials required to make a storage box were too many, especially one she had never seen before: a “copper casting block.”

Although it said it couldn’t be moved, that didn’t mean it couldn’t be destroyed. So, judging by materials and practicality, backpack expansion devices were more urgent.

Yu Miaomiao posted again in the world chat, offering commission work to craft Basic Backpack Expansions.

Soon, someone contacted her.

『HonestyFirst: How do you charge for commission work?』

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: What materials or blueprints can you offer in exchange?』

『HonestyFirst: I only have 2 bundles of cotton and one 【Simple Water Purifier Blueprint】.』

Water purifier?

【Name: Simple Water Purifier Blueprint (1/1)

Level: 4

Description: Learn to craft a simple water purifier after use

Attributes: 】

Everyone is stuck in the desert, where would unpurified water come from? Yu Miaomiao hesitated a bit.

As if sensing her concern, the other person continued messaging.

『HonestyFirst: I’ve seen people post various water-related tools in the world chat. This broken game might even have storms and heavy rain someday. You’re just doing commission work—getting this potentially useful blueprint in the future can only be good for you, no downsides.』

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: Do you have all the materials for the Basic Backpack Expansion?』

『HonestyFirst: Yes, but since we don’t know each other, I need you to put up an important item as collateral during the trade. Once you finish the work, I’ll return it along with the commission payment.』

The other party made this request. Yu Miaomiao thought it was reasonable—completely trusting strangers like ‘Pipi’ was a bit too naive.

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: How do you define an important item? Would wood work?』

『HonestyFirst: Of course it’s water. Everyone is short on water now. Judging by your name, you probably aren’t lacking water, right?』

Uh, at the moment, Yu Miaomiao’s situation did match her nickname’s meaning—she was temporarily not short on water.

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: Okay, commission fee is 2 bundles of cotton plus one Simple Water Purifier Blueprint?』

『HonestyFirst: No problem, just wait a moment. I’ll organize my items.』

When exchanging items, the system backpack must have enough free space, otherwise, it will prompt that the space is insufficient, causing the exchange to fail.

Yu Miaomiao encountered this issue during a trade with ‘Lulu.’ Fortunately, the other party didn’t press further. After she quickly cleared space, the trade went through successfully.

While waiting for ‘HonestyFirst,’ Yu Miaomiao organized her own items and deliberately left five free slots to avoid the same problem.

She wasn’t sure how her resources compared to others’, but in this apocalypse, it was best not to reveal too much wealth.

After nearly half an hour, Yu Miaomiao finally received the other party’s trade.

Upon receiving the materials, Yu Miaomiao placed a bottle of mineral water as collateral.

After the exchange was complete, Yu Miaomiao went straight to the workbench, selected the ‘Basic Backpack Expansion’ under the ‘Life’ category, and started the process.

Following the holographic operation guide, she tore the cotton apart, layered a fiber strand with some cotton, and slowly spread it flat into a whole piece of cloth.

During the process, if the pressure was too strong, the fiber would clump the shredded cotton into a small ball, and a red “X” would appear within the visible range of the workbench, making it impossible to proceed to the next step. Yu Miaomiao had to dismantle that small piece and start layering it again.

After laying it properly, she used a roller on the workbench to repeatedly press the cotton-fiber sheet. Once the system indicated completion, she then used a small needle on the workbench to punch holes as instructed, finally threading and tying it with the twine.

The moment she finished tying it, a system notification sounded:

【Luck Trait Activated Successfully – Crafted Basic Backpack Expander ×2】

As expected, having the Luck Trait paid off—not only had she completed the commissioned item, but she also got to keep one for herself for free.

Glancing at the time, she realized making one Basic Backpack Expander had taken her over 40 minutes. Now the scorching sun was directly overhead, and even with a sunshade, the heat was intense.

She took a sip of water. Looking at the items scattered on the ground, she thought, “Since I now have two backpack expanders, maybe I should use one.”

Yu Miaomiao mentally split the two expanders and intended to use one. But after thinking about it, she decided to wait—it wasn’t urgent. She could finish her trades first. Then she messaged the other party:

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: The Basic Backpack Expander is ready. Send me the trade request and remember to put the water and the commission items in the trade box.』

『HonestyFirst: Got it.』

The other party quickly sent a trade request. After Yu Miaomiao placed the expander—an item shaped like a small pouch—into the trade slot, the other party added three items.

One was a scroll-looking item, which, when aligned with her gaze, displayed 【Simple Water Purifier Blueprint】, the second was two bundles of cotton.

But the third item looked very odd to Yu Miaomiao.

Its icon resembled a miniature version of a bottled water image, except the bottle looked slightly yellowish. When she focused on it, the label read: 【Bottle Containing Liquid】

If it were the bottle of mineral water she’d originally given as collateral, it should still say 【Mineral Water】.

Yu Miaomiao canceled the trade and messaged the other party:

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: There’s something wrong with this water. It’s not the mineral water I gave you.』

『HonestyFirst: After a player trades mineral water, the item name changes. You probably haven’t received water from someone else before. Just check if the quantity is 1—there’s no way to fake that. Or are you just trying to find an excuse to cheat me out of my materials?』

Yu Miaomiao did recall ‘Pipi’ mentioning that if consumable items were partially used, the quantity would decrease. If less than one full bottle remained, the inventory would show 0.5, anything less than half would display as 0, though such items could still be traded.

And indeed, the item the other party placed in the trade slot showed a quantity of 1.

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: Send me the item info for that bottle of water.』

『HonestyFirst: 【Bottle Containing Liquid】.』

【Name: Bottle Containing Liquid (1/1)

Level: 1

Description: A bottle filled with liquid. Looks quite ordinary.

Attributes: 】

『HonestyFirst: Can you hurry up? My food is about to spoil, and I’m just waiting on that backpack expander.』

Thinking about how precious food was in the apocalypse, Yu Miaomiao glanced at his username, then reluctantly completed the trade.

After receiving the items, that suspicious bottle didn’t stack with her existing mineral water. With growing doubts, she took out the questionable item.

The moment she held it in her hand and saw the disgusting yellow liquid inside, she instantly knew what it was. Even though no one was around, she couldn’t help but curse the air out loud.

Yu Miaomiao immediately messaged him:

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: We’re in an apocalypse and you’re still doing something this filthy? Do you really think anonymity means you’re safe from retaliation?』

Her message was met with silence. That was when Yu Miaomiao remembered the system’s initial warning to all players:

“All transactions made in chat are treated as real and final. Once completed, they cannot be undone. Please be alert for scams.”

She had just been scammed in this apocalypse—and in the most revolting way possible.

Opening the world chat channel, ready to expose this person’s disgusting fraud, Yu Miaomiao immediately saw that she wasn’t the only victim.