Player1212: "I have wires. I need at least enough food for one meal and two bottles of water."
Qi Xu wasn’t about to be taken for a fool, so he ignored this message outright.
Negative Times Negative: "I need glass. Do you have any? I’ll trade my wires for 5 pieces of glass."
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang: "I have wires. I’ll send them to you—no need for anything in return. I already got three whole wheat buns from you earlier for just 5 pieces of wood, and I feel bad about that."
Qi Xu immediately chose Bubbly Girl Guo Degang—the others weren’t worth it. But he didn’t want to take advantage of her kindness either.
Just then, his instant noodles finished cooking, so he asked, "Do you have a bowl or a cup?"
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang: "Only disposable cups. I have two—you can take them if you need them."
[Player Bubbly Girl Guo Degang has sent you a gift. Please accept!]
Qi Xu took both the cups and the wires, then filled one of the cups with the freshly cooked noodles and sent it back.
"Ahhh! Hot noodles! I could cry from how good this smells. Big shot, you’re gonna go broke doing business like this! Ugh, I wanna eat it so bad, but I’d feel guilty!"
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Don’t worry, eat up before it gets cold. If you hear any leads about Vehicle Upgrade Cards, let me know."
"Got it, got it! I’ll ask around after I finish eating. You’re way too famous—if you ask for supplies directly, people might jack up the prices out of spite. Send me your wishlist, and I’ll scout for deals. Nobody’s gonna overcharge a nobody like me!"
Qi Xu agreed right away: "Deal. If the trade goes through, I’ll give you a commission."
"No need! This cup of noodles is more than enough. Feels like I’ve found a reason to keep going!"
"Stay strong."
Qi Xu was learning to cooperate with others. While full trust wasn’t necessary, a little goodwill went a long way.
With everything ready, Qi Xu placed the broken solar-powered battery box on the crafting table. Repairing it only cost a few basic materials.
He tapped "Repair."
The table rumbled to life, shaking the entire tricycle. Qi Xu half-expected it to explode—he almost wanted to cheer it on. Thankfully, the repair succeeded, and he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
The solar-powered battery box was now functional, though it’d need sunlight to recharge tomorrow. He tucked it into the far end of the tricycle, next to the silver supply crate.
The crafting table still lacked a dismantling function—probably locked behind a Level 2 vehicle upgrade. So his top priority was leveling up the tricycle!
Among his other loot was a yoga mat. Qi Xu used his dirty clothes from the day to wipe it down, then flipped his pants inside out, poured some drinking water over them, and rinsed the mat clean.
Sleeping on the tricycle these past few nights had left his backside sore. Folding the yoga mat under him would make it way more comfortable.
Two bowls and a plate, still in their pristine packaging, were also salvaged from the dump. The rest were basics like rubber, iron scraps, and old screws—his inventory had grown significantly.
He packed away everything he already had into his backpack, leaving the tricycle sides clear for sleeping space. He’d reload the supplies tomorrow.
The once-bright pink tricycle now looked like a junk hauler, its color dulled to gray, some of its lace trim torn by rough handling.
Qi Xu cleared his throat and chanted loudly: "Dark and dirty, make me pretty! La-la-ha-wu-wu, gabba-gabba, transform!"
In the next second, the tricycle regained its rosy glow. But the real surprise was the crafting table—rusty and battered just moments ago—now looked brand new.
Even if it was now pink, at least it didn’t look like it was about to fall apart. Qi Xu was thrilled.
A scan with his display screen showed the item description had changed too:
[Adorable Crafting Table for Pretty Girls: So cute, so cute, I’m just too cute~]
The line about "likely to break down any second" was gone—this table was as good as new!
Qi Xu was over the moon. Two barrels of oil for this treasure? Worth it!
Then he noticed someone had been spamming his mentions. He opened the [Chat Hall].
Player1212: "@Invincible Black Whirlwind, too scared to reply to my DMs? Some ‘big shot’ you are—scamming regular players like this?"
Qi Xu frowned, more puzzled than angry. Troublemakers were everywhere—if it wasn’t this 1212, it’d be someone else.
At first, he thought it was about the food making people sick, but scrolling up revealed the real issue.
A player named Light Fills the World had shared a tip:
"Listen up, folks! Found something amazing—this black rock is called a Basic Black Space Stone. Useless alone, but place it on your backpack, and it adds 10 extra slots!"
Qi Xu remembered this guy all too well.
A total do-gooder, spilling every secret without hesitation, always quick to moralize and guilt-trip others.
After Location Stones appeared, he’d been the first player hunted down and killed...
Qi Xu checked his chat history with Player1212. The messages were relentless:
"Can I have my Basic Black Space Stone back?"
"Or at least compensate me? You traded a meat bun and some water for it—I’m getting ripped off here."
"I’m not greedy—just 5 bottles of water and 5 meals. Backpack expansion is a long-term game-changer!"
"Can you at least reply? Why’s a big shot like you nickel-and-diming us? My ask isn’t even that much."
Qi Xu couldn’t be bothered to respond. He blocked Player1212 immediately.
This only enraged the guy further:
"@Invincible Black Whirlwind, blocking me? That’s your guilty conscience talking! A meat bun and some water for a Space Stone? Have you no shame?"
Retired Magical Boy: "Didn’t get it at first, but now I see—you’re just a sore loser trying to back out of a trade."
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang: "If you didn’t wanna trade, you shouldn’t have agreed. Changing your mind after the fact is weak."
Blessed by Luck: "Yeah, man up already."
Player1212: "Easy for you to say when you’re not the one getting scammed! Shut your damn mouths!"
........
