At this moment, the survival game had been underway for half a day.
Outside, the sun blazed down mercilessly, with blistering temperatures.
Many parched people lay resting in their ramshackle straw huts.
However, the moment Lin Yue posted about selling water, it immediately set these people abuzz with excitement!
"Someone's selling water, and all they want is wood?"
"Damn, someone is actually willing to sell water? And 200 milliliters at that?"
"Did it come from a loot box?"
"Could there be a water source near the shelter? I've dug two meters and haven't found any!"
"Got it, I'm off to chop trees, wait for me, big shot!"
"Lin Yue, sweetie, can you just give me the water? I'm so thirsty, I'll go on a date with you when we get out."
"Send over your account number, I'll pay twenty thousand for the water!"
...
Lin Yue checked his trade messages again, and they had instantly reached over 100+ entries!
Among them were seductive offers, threats, proposals with lavish rewards, as well as desperate pleas.
He chose to ignore them altogether; none of them seemed reliable, besides, returning to the original world?
That possibility was likely nonexistent.
He looked at the bid records.
To his astonishment, he found that in just a brief moment, someone had already offered a number beyond his expectations.
Lin Yue didn't want to waste much time and directly accepted that person's terms.
[You lost 200 milliliters of water]
[You gained Wood X20]
After the transaction, Lin Yue noticed the water in his bottle had noticeably decreased.
Simultaneously, he gained 20 units of wood!
A gentle breeze blew through the countless gaps between the dry grass and into the straw hut.
Water, practically worthless in the original world, had become a "hard currency" in this survival game.
Perhaps this 200 milliliters of water could be exchanged for more, but Lin Yue was not that greedy, and his time was also very valuable.
"Open the crafting panel, then to shelter-related..."
The interface before him transformed again as Lin Yue looked towards the crafting panel.
[Wooden Wall: Wood X15]
Now with 20 units of wood, Lin Yue didn't have to settle for just a wooden door; why not replace the entire shelter's walls with more robust wood?
Selected, confirmed crafting!
A flash of white light appeared.
[Wood -15]
[Your shelter has been upgraded to wooden walls]
Soon, once the light faded, Lin Yue was delighted to find the walls had changed from leaky, flimsy dry grass to thicker wooden planks.
Though they were still quite uneven, the sturdiness was significantly improved.
Next up was the door.
[Wooden Door: Wood X2]
Selected, confirmed crafting!
A flash of white light appeared.
[Wood -2]
[Your shelter has been upgraded to a wooden door]
Lin Yue looked up, and a brand-new wooden door was now set in the frame.
Hopefully, this would be enough to fend off mutant creatures.
As he approached, he noticed there was also a door bolt.
After placing the bolt properly,
he immediately felt a sense of security envelop him.
Hopefully, this would be enough to fend off mutant creatures.
With water and food now secured, and the shelter much more sturdy,
the pressure weighing on him had lightened considerably.
He exhaled lightly, lying back on the straw while looking at the remaining materials in the inventory.
What should he renovate next?
Looking up, the roof still let the wind in.
The straw beneath him was rather uncomfortable.
It seemed like quality of life could still be improved.
However, before that, he had some plans in mind.
Lin Yue could now confirm that opening loot boxes would ensure access to water and food, while wood, stone, and other materials could enhance the shelter's sturdiness, thereby increasing his safety.
But in the area he was in, there was only sparse grass and widespread yellow earth, just a few trees, and not a stone or other minerals in sight.
Resources weren't just scarce, they were practically nonexistent.
It's safe to say, without this 100% loot box system, this would have been an absolute dead-end start.
Moreover, the crisis hadn't been fully resolved.
How many more mutant creatures easily handled by mutated bugs were around here? What if he encountered something stronger?
Recalling the squished bugs and lizards, Lin Yue took off his shoes and grabbed a handful of dry grass to clean them.
He found the soles had numerous burned-like holes!
This was...
Those bug lizards seemingly weren't as weak as he had thought.
It was fortunate he stepped on them with his feet, and not with his hands, or else the consequences would have been dire.
Lin Yue finally understood what "mutant creature" truly meant.
He thought of those who perished in the group, who perhaps died by underestimating these mutant creatures.
It seemed, rather than improving the environment, crafting a weapon was more urgent.
He opened the crafting panel, then selected [Survival-Related].
There were many items that could be crafted, and Lin Yue focused directly on the weapons.
[Wooden Shovel: Wood X2]
[Stone Spear: Wood X3, Stone X2]
[Wooden Bow: Wood X3, Fiber X3]
[Slingshot: Wood X1, Leather X2]
[Iron Spear: Wood X2, Iron Block X3]
[Torch: Wood X1, Dry Grass X3]
[Wooden Bed: Wood X4]
...
Lin Yue took a bite of bread, eyeing the various options in the crafting column.
There was a plethora of tools, weapons, even furniture available.
But after a brief glance, Lin Yue ruled out most of them.
Wooden weapons and stone weapons could be crafted now, but each had its drawbacks.
Axes and hammers as weapons had limited range, and even if they could be thrown, Lin Yue hadn't practiced this, making accuracy an issue.
The wooden bow had the range, yet still had accuracy issues, and required arrows to be made.
Farm tools were not considered due to limited lethality.
Lin Yue finally focused on the spears and guns.
He noticed that, for the stone options, the spear cost two wood and two stones, while the gun cost three wood and two stones.
Seemingly similar weapons, the difference in resource expenditure was something Lin Yue cared about.
He chose the spear, but material-wise, iron was clearly sharper compared to stone.
Wouldn't it be better to go big from the start?
But he didn't have iron blocks.
However, someone else did.
Stepping outside, the sky seemed to have darkened a bit.
Taking a sip of water, he opened the group chat, finding the chat panel bustling.
"I found a water source, but the water is green, can it be drunk? I'm too thirsty!"
"Sell it on the marketplace, let me try it for you."
"Auction it, highest bidder wins!"
"Where did the master who sold water earlier go? Now they're selling 15 milliliters and 20 milliliters, just a bottle cap's worth, expecting to trade for stuff? What's the point?"
"Report, the seventeenth little lizard finally dropped a wooden box with steamed buns inside!"
"Lots of materials for water, interested parties please DM!"
...
The chat messages kept Lin Yue occupied for over ten minutes.
Yet he did obtain quite a bit of useful information.
Some people got boxes, acquiring food or water.
Upon opening the trade marketplace, Lin Yue indeed saw some people selling water at high prices, even the "green liquid" he just read about was quickly snapped up.
Moreover, browsing through, he saw a vast majority trading a lot of materials for water.
Indeed, compared to wood and stone, the demand for water was imperative.
Especially in the initial few days.
How many people who crossed into this Otherworld could really challenge the limits of human endurance by going without water? Probably not many.
Without water or food, people would generally spiral into anxiety, pessimism, and other negative emotions, doing everything they could to find some hope in this trade marketplace.
And some, because of this, would blindly attack mutant creatures hoping to get a loot box.
Yet the low drop rate and the unique nature of mutant creatures heightened the danger of such behavior, thusly...
Lin Yue glanced again at the top right corner displaying the total number of people.
9811.
Out of a group of ten thousand, nearly two hundred had vanished within just a few hours.
Lin Yue didn't know how they died, but undoubtedly, many were entangled by this "water" dilemma.
Who knows how many globally had already been wiped out by this point?
This survival game was truly terrifying.