Wan Yi gripped the suddenly appearing, glittering golden bowl, her mouth twitching. It was only after reading the message that she understood.
As expected of a big shot...
Even the bowl is this huge.
【Wan Yi】: Alright. Do you still want to use disposable chopsticks and spoons?
Cheng Shuili froze on the spot. She had actually forgotten to buy utensils!
Cheng Shuili wanted to cry but had no tears. It took her a while to reply.
【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: I forgot to buy utensils.
【Wan Yi】: You don't want to use disposables? You should've said so earlier. I found a pair of bamboo chopsticks and a small rice spoon yesterday—stainless steel, I think. They don't look as fancy as your bowl, but they'll work. I thought you liked my disposable ones since you don't have to wash them.
Cheng Shuili knew that, of course. Convenience was one thing, but psychological comfort was another.
Especially in this desolate apocalypse where no other humans could be seen.
Mental solace was exceptionally important.
She didn't mind wasting a bit more water; she wasn't short on resources at all. She just wanted to live a decent life.
【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: Then thank you very much.
【Wan Yi】: We're on the same team, no need to be polite.
The words were well-put. Cheng Shuili felt a warmth in her heart and obediently returned to the driver's seat to continue forward.
It was the first day after the novice protection period ended. There was no telling what kind of nonsense would happen next.
It had been a truly productive day.
Snowflakes sliced diagonally against the windshield. The sun hadn't come out once all day, but Cheng Shuili could clearly feel that the brightness of the world had been turned down.
It was getting dark.
She opened the system panel to check the time. It was almost eight o'clock; it was indeed time to stop.
Cheng Shuili turned the steering wheel and braked the shopping cart at the side of the road. She circled the vehicle to inspect it, making sure everything was fine before locking the doors.
She wouldn't be getting out of the car again today.
Dinner was pork rib and radish soup. She brewed a large pot, enough for the three of them to drink.
Wan Yi had originally wanted to make braised pork with vermicelli, but unfortunately, vermicelli was a rare commodity here.
Cheng Shuili wasn't disappointed. She was full of anticipation for after dinner, waiting to see what exactly the surprise the system mentioned was.
As soon as eight o'clock passed, night fell completely.
Two eerie roars of monsters sounded outside the vehicle. Cheng Shuili wasn't surprised; she had grown used to hearing them over the past few days.
However, this was the first night after the novice protection period ended. She wondered if anything had changed.
Cheng Shuili looked out the window. A dense crowd of monsters seemed to be blocked by a barrier, unable to advance even an inch.
Cheng Shuili stared for a moment, and a system pop-up suddenly appeared before her eyes.
【Level 3 Protective Barrier】
【Can only be generated by a Level 3 vehicle. It blocks all monsters below Level 3, including Level 3 monsters!】
【Current Day: Day 1 of the Extreme Cold disaster. The current maximum monster level is Level 1!】
The content on the pop-up was clear at a glance. The final words "Level 1" were even styled with a bleeding effect, with red droplets dripping down from the characters.
It was quite realistic.
Cheng Shuili nodded to herself. This interface looked much better than the one she used to choose her vehicle.
The system is improving too.
While Cheng Shuili was lost in thought, her gaze suddenly met a red-eyed monster pressed against the barrier.
The monster immediately tilted its head back and howled excitedly.
Cheng Shuili no longer found it strange. Instead, she felt these howling monsters were like little dogs.
Usually quiet, but they'd let out a howl if the owner teased them.
But she didn't look for long. Even if they were like dogs, they couldn't be allowed to keep barking.
Many people in the regional channel had discovered this, and the discussion was quite heated.
【Fire Whale】: It seems like a protective barrier has covered my vehicle. I was pretty scared just now, but now I don't care.
【Nuoxi】: Does anyone know what's going on with this protective barrier?
【Mountain Pig】: If you have it, you have it. Why dig into it? What if you die by accident while trying to investigate?
【Wang Lai】: You're so carefree. If it suddenly disappears, you won't even have time to cry!
【Yao Luo】: I agree with the person above. Does anyone know what's actually happening? Private message me; I can pay for information.
【Your Hair】: What kind of sucker are you, offering pay for everything? Do you have that many supplies?
【Mo Fu Shao Hua】: How can you say that? All leechers deserve to die. I won't accept any counter-arguments. If you curse me, you're a Nihonjin.
Seeing that another argument was about to break out, Cheng Shuili almost closed the regional channel, but Glory spoke up again.
【Glory Shines on Blue Star】: The barrier is generated based on the vehicle level. A Level 1 vehicle generates a Level 1 protective barrier, Level 2 generates Level 2, and so on! The barrier protects against all monsters of that level and below! If you stare at the barrier for a while, a system panel will pop up. You can check the specific details yourselves.
【Yao Luo】: You actually have to stare at the barrier? Doesn't that mean staring at the monsters? That's too terrifying! I'm so scared.
【Meng Dong】: If you're still scared of monsters at this point, you're hopeless.
【Wronged Me】: Hopeless? You mean like your parents? I really can't compare to you; you probably go home and find the house empty.
【Xu Lingqi】: Holy crap, the person above has high attack power! Wait, didn't we skip the part where we thank the big shot!
【Welding Big Bro】: You idiots who need a big shot to tell you everything... I really don't want to comment. When something happens, your brains don't turn at all. You just open the regional channel to ask. Is what's between your ears actually a brain?
With that said, the regional channel completely exploded into an argument.
Cheng Shuili had long stopped reading. She smilingly clicked on the private chat with Glory. She had something good to sell, after all.
And it just so happened that Glory, the big spender, had appeared.
【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: I got my hands on something good. A proof of entry for the beastman town. Interested?
Zhao Hong's first reaction upon receiving the message was vigilance. He frowned and thought for a while. Just as he was hesitating, he suddenly remembered that he didn't have the authority to make the decision.
Zhao Hong sighed and resignedly opened one private chat window after another to report the news upward.
He felt the answer was a foregone conclusion.
The organization definitely needed this item.
Both they and Crow aimed to reach a deal, but the problem lay in the price!
The organization had been absolutely fleeced by Crow last time. This time, they were surely thinking of getting a bit of their own back, but Crow was a stubborn one.
Just thinking about it made Zhao Hong's head spin. The higher-ups just gave the orders, but the specific details of bargaining and negotiation were all left to him.
He had to admit.
He really did have a bit of psychological trauma regarding Crow, and he even felt a deep-seated reluctance to interact with this person again...
But orders were orders...
Zhao Hong shook his head. After receiving word back, he obediently sent a message to Crow.
【Glory Shines on Blue Star】: I'm interested. What's the price?
Cheng Shuili smiled. That was exactly the sentence she was waiting for.
She wasn't in a hurry to reply. Instead, she pulled out her Vehicle Upgrade Material Shards and counted them carefully. She now had 66 shards in total, with 10 given by the leaderboard.
In the past two days, she had only found two shards from supply crates.
Rate on N.U.
