Donut: "Hey, soon-to-die brothers and sisters, before you kick the bucket, could you give me your supplies? I’ll pray for you—maybe dying isn’t so bad, you might just return to that normal world we came from."
Popular Female Streamer immediately sent a voice message, not even bothering to type: "Donut, you fing piece of s! Don’t let me see you, or I’ll slap the s out of you, you stinky b! Screw you and your whole family for eight generations! F off! You dog!"
Player 1212: "Donut, how shameless can you be? People are begging for medicine, and you’re wishing death on them. @Popular Female Streamer, dude, you just revealed your gender! How about you give me the supplies instead? I’ll help you deal with Donut!"
Donut: "1212, you’re the shameless one! You just want their stuff too—stop pretending!"
Popular Female Streamer: "Piss off, all of you!"
Light Fills the World: "Stop arguing, everyone! Does anyone have anti-inflammatory meds? In times of crisis, we need to work together. Let’s not get emotional!"
Warwolf 009: "Anyone want monster meat? The item description says it’s edible."
Negative Times Negative: "Holy crap, respect! I thought we could only run from monsters—turns out we can actually fight back?"
Warwolf 009: "Yep. They look scary, but they’re not that strong."
Donut: "Wow, Warwolf, you’re amazing! Can you spare me a small piece of monster meat? I just wanna see what it looks like."
Player 1001: "If it’s edible, why don’t you keep it for yourself?"
Warwolf 009: "No cooking tools. Can’t prepare it raw."
Qi Xu’s eyes lit up. As expected of a soldier king—he actually had time to kill a monster and drag it back!
Not all monster meat is edible, though. The hairy, big-eyed creature Qi Xu encountered earlier couldn’t be eaten—it was covered in fur.
But if you dismantled it, you might get "Hairy Monster’s Fur," which could be used to knit sweaters...
Some monster meat was edible, though. Eating it for seven straight days could boost your strength by one point!
Qi Xu privately messaged Warwolf 009: "How many grams? What’s your price?"
Warwolf 009: "500 grams of monster meat. I’d like to trade for ready-to-eat food."
Warwolf 009 also sent over an item description:
[Wild Bull Meat (500g): Non-toxic, edible. Taste depends on cooking skill—if it sucks, blame the chef, not the meat!]
Qi Xu checked his supplies and replied, "How about a KFC combo? Burger, fries, wings, original recipe chicken, and a Coke."
Warwolf 009: "Deal! I’m getting the better end here. I’ll throw in an anesthesia needle—it’s a ring, single-use only."
Warwolf 009 immediately sent over the 500g of monster meat and the anesthesia needle. Qi Xu couldn’t refuse.
Still, he was curious.
"You don’t need weapons? I’ve seen you selling them a lot."
Warwolf 009: "Funny story—I never pull food from loot, but I keep getting weapons..."
Qi Xu marveled. What kind of bizarre luck was that?
After finalizing the trade, Qi Xu asked, "Do you have any longer-range weapons? Like a staff or a pistol?"
A moment later, Warwolf 009 replied, "I’ve got a stun staff and a Type 92 pistol, but I’m using both right now. Not really looking to trade."
Invincible Black Tornado: "Two vehicle upgrade card fragments for the stun staff."
Warwolf 009: "Sold!"
Qi Xu scoffed. So much for "not really looking to trade." That was a quick change of heart.
Qi Xu put on the anesthesia needle ring—it fit on his index finger. Pressing the side button would release the needle instantly.
The good thing was that the needle could be reused… if you could retrieve it. Made it ideal for solo fights.
As for the stun staff, Qi Xu examined it closely.
[Monkey’s Staff: For the lucky ones. Every swing is a crit, guaranteed to stun. But if your luck’s trash? Heh. Just give up.]
Qi Xu never considered himself lucky before. Now? He was confident no one in the entire server had better luck than him.
This staff was perfect.
Qi Xu messaged Chinese Master Chef: "Can you cook this monster meat for me? Any method’s fine."
Chinese Master Chef: "This item description’s hilarious. Alright, challenge accepted! You eaten yet? Order whatever—don’t hold back."
Qi Xu racked his brain for normal-world dishes before hesitantly saying, "Could you make me a bowl of egg drop noodle soup?"
Chinese Master Chef: "......"
"You mean the kind where you just mix flour and eggs?!"
"Yep!"
Qi Xu was out of eggs, and he’d already given all his flour to Chinese Master Chef, so he had no ingredients left.
Within minutes, a steaming bowl of egg drop noodle soup arrived. One sip—was it gourmet? Not really.
But the taste! It flooded Qi Xu’s mind with fragments of memories and nostalgia for the vibrant world they’d left behind.
Sipping the soup, Qi Xu nibbled on a slice of pizza he’d bought from the monster store. It was tasty, with thick, gooey cheese—but it lacked soul.
After two small slices, he lost his appetite.
The whole pizza was 600 grams, cut into six slices. Qi Xu ate two and listed the rest on the trading platform.
[100g Supreme Wagyu Cheese-Stuffed Pizza ↔ 1 Steel Bar]
[100g Supreme Wagyu Cheese-Stuffed Pizza ↔ 1 Battery]
[200g Supreme Wagyu Cheese-Stuffed Pizza ↔ 5 Cotton]
Then he went to the chat room to announce, "Anyone want Wagyu cheese-stuffed pizza? It’s up on the trading platform."
Five seconds later—gone.
Player 0102: "Where? I don’t see it!"
Money Tree Bless Me: "I saw it! Was about to trade when it disappeared!"
Parents' Favorite Child: "Hahaha, let me show you. [Image] Holy crap, smells amazing!"
Jingle Bells: "Aaaaaaah, impossible to get! @Invincible Black Tornado, got more, boss? Please?"
Invincible Black Tornado: "Yeah. Who else wants some? Besides pizza, I’ve got KFC family buckets too."
In one second, the chat room exploded with nearly a hundred new messages.
.........
