However, all the food and water resources in the supply crates had vanished, replaced entirely by various basic supplies and daily necessities. Everyone had anticipated this, so it wasn’t too hard to accept.
That evening, after opening the crates, Qi Xu didn’t find anything particularly noteworthy in the supplies. He decided to send a message in the main group chat:
"Anyone in need of food can DM me. Will trade for any random supplies."
Recently, the quality of the supply crates had improved, with fewer wooden and bronze crates appearing, which meant the amount of basic materials had also decreased. These foundational resources were still essential—having to gather them on the spot when needed would be a huge hassle.
But the others in the group didn’t see it that way. They instantly assumed this was Whirlwind’s (Qi Xu’s) way of helping everyone out... After all, he surely didn’t lack basic materials...
The first to DM Qi Xu was "Cursed by Misfortune."
"Whirlwind, I’m shamelessly coming to you! sobbing I’m really on the verge of collapse. My luck’s been terrible, and I didn’t even check the group chat yesterday afternoon. I had no idea today would be a ‘Famine’ disaster—didn’t save any food at all.
This morning, I even ate cat food... Spent the whole day with diarrhea, and now I just can’t take it anymore. Boss, I’ll send you my stuff first—just give me whatever scraps of food you can spare."
After saying this, Cursed by Misfortune proactively sent over a pile of items: "Chilly Sand ×5 lbs, Pebbles ×50, Medium Fish Tank ×1, Dried White Mice (Not for Human Consumption) ×19, Wooden Fake Branches, Cat Climbing Tower, Chew Toy, Luxury Cat Bed, Dried Fish ×31."
Qi Xu was puzzled and even a little curious—did this guy know he had two pets? And that one was a snake, the other a dog...
"Why is everything you sent pet-related?"
Cursed by Misfortune: "I dunno either! Ever since this survival game started, almost everything I’ve gotten from crates is pet-related. It’s kinda tragic, really... I’ve been surviving on dog food up till now.
I finally mustered the courage to try a dungeon run, only to lose the last of my edible dog food. (ಥ_ಥ)
Boss, don’t force yourself—if you can’t trade, it’s fine. I can eat those dried fish too... just a bit too dry..."
Right now, Qi Xu had no shortage of food, if nothing else.
Thanks to the Advanced Space Stone, half of his storage was filled to the brim with food, not to mention the static inventory slots in his backpack. Even if the Famine disaster lasted a whole year, Qi Xu wouldn’t go hungry.
After glancing at the items Cursed by Misfortune had sent, he roughly matched their value and sent over a bundle of food.
Cursed by Misfortune sighed. Maybe he’d asked for too much—he’d hoped that with so many items, he could at least trade for a few sausages or some crackers. But it seemed the boss didn’t need any of it.
He hadn’t pooped in five days. His stomach was full of hard lumps—at night, he could delude himself into thinking they were abs, but in the cold light of day... yeah, it was just poop.
Just as he was about to apologize again, Cursed by Misfortune suddenly noticed that Whirlwind had accepted all his items!
And even sent over a gift in return.
His hands moved faster than his brain—he clicked "Accept" immediately.
"Supreme Wagyu Beef Pizza ×1, Red Bean Bread ×5, Whole Milk ×5, Roast Chicken ×1, Self-Heating Hot Pot ×3, Self-Heating Rice ×3, Bananas ×12, Grade-A Dragon Fruit ×1."
Qi Xu had given far more than what Cursed by Misfortune had sent, mainly because of his two pets. With this guy’s luck, he might stumble upon more Pet Evolution Potions...
He didn’t want to keep bothering Bian either—she’d just sent over a Pet Nutrition Pod.
Despite opening so many crates, Qi Xu hadn’t found a single potion and was worried about running out.
As a pet owner, he just wanted the best for his babies!
"Keep an eye out for Pet Evolution Potions. If you find any, trade with me—I’ll make sure you’re fed."
Cursed by Misfortune: "Huh??! Boss, you’ve started raising pets?! Can I be your pet?!"
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "?"
Cursed by Misfortune withdrew a message.
"sobbing I actually had a ton of Pet Evolution Potions—like sixty or seventy bottles. Couldn’t sell them in the trading hall, then lost them all in that dungeon run. Found a few more recently, but I drank them all like water. Now I don’t have a single one left.
Boss, are you sure you want to give me all this food? I’d feel too guilty taking it!"
Qi Xu realized this guy was a real chatterbox—never ran out of things to say.
Also... Pet Evolution Potions? Humans could drink those? Like water?!
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Take it. I can use what you sent. But I’m calling dibs on any future Pet Evolution Potions you find. Also, don’t you have a water condenser?"
Cursed by Misfortune: "Had one. Got confiscated. Was afraid it’d get stolen if I left it in the car, so I took it into the dungeon."
Qi Xu clicked his tongue. This guy’s luck was truly cursed.
"Non-Chief's Possession": "Big boss!!! No problem, don’t worry. I’ll set off at six tomorrow sharp. I might not be able to get anything else, but these things? They’re definitely in the box!"
Qi Xu didn’t dare reply anymore, or the conversation would drag on endlessly.
He took out the pile of pet supplies sent by "Non-Chief's Possession."
He placed the chilled sand and pebbles into the medium-sized fish tank, then decorated it with a faux wooden branch.
"Sweet Girl! Come here, quick! Look, your new home is ready!"
Sweet Girl darted over in a flash, effortlessly scaling the fish tank.
She wriggled gleefully among the pebbles—so happy!
[Pet Sweet Girl’s affection toward you has increased by 20. Current affection level: 40.]
Qi Xu had initially thought raising Sweet Girl’s affection would be tough, but this kid turned out to be as easy to please as Little Seven—maybe even easier...
He pulled out a little white mouse and fed it to Sweet Girl. Her cheeks bulged as she munched away, suddenly deciding that her favorite food was no longer pumpkin but this juicy mouse!
She chewed with relish~
Then Qi Xu tossed a chew toy to Little Seven. One second, Little Seven was covering its face in sorrow; the next, it was leaping excitedly into the air—only to kick over the basin of toiletries Qi Xu had just set out...
Usually, on the first night of a new disaster, the dungeon registration portal would appear.
So everyone was staying up late, waiting. But most were still traumatized by the last dungeon, "The Princess’s Banquet," and swore they wouldn’t participate this time...
Others had resigned themselves to despair—nothing could be worse than their current situation.
A quick death was better than slowly starving. Gamble it all, and a bicycle might turn into a motorcycle!
Some even privately messaged Qi Xu, hoping to trade supplies for dungeon intel. Little did they know... Boss Qiu didn’t play by the rules and had already hatched a devious plan...
.........
