Road Survival, I Have a Hint System!

After driving about five kilometers, Zhang Tuohai reached a Y-shaped intersection.

Two roads extended into the distance, disappearing into the horizon.

【The left road has more supply crates, but they contain only basic supplies. The right road has fewer supply crates, but they contain high-level supplies.】

The hint system immediately provided this information.

Reading the hint, Zhang Tuohai's fingers lightly tapped on the steering wheel.

He glanced at the basic supplies he had collected.

Although some supplies were used up after making certain items, he was no longer interested in these basic materials.

Rather than wasting time and effort collecting low-value, common materials, he decided it would be better to search for valuable blueprints and higher-value items.

Those common materials could easily be obtained through trading.

Just from the items he traded for with that pig in the morning, he saved days of effort compared to gathering them himself.

Indeed, profiting from the price difference is the quickest way to accumulate wealth.

Zhang Tuohai turned onto the right road.

After driving about twenty more kilometers, Zhang Tuohai finally spotted a new supply crate.

It was blue.

【Level 2 Supply Crate: Contains 100 units of gasoline, 10 liters of water, and one blueprint.】

“NICE!”

Zhang Tuohai happily jumped out of the car and opened the crate.

Inside were 40 bottles of 250 ml mineral water, two barrels of gasoline containing 50 units each, and a blueprint neatly laid out on the ground.

Zhang Tuohai picked up the blueprint first, eager to see what it was this time.

【Lucky Mermaid Statue: A car decoration that significantly increases the chance of finding blueprints when placed inside the vehicle.】

【Material requirements: 2 units of intermediate wood, 1 common spirit fragment.】

【Placement requirement: Level 2 vehicle.】

After reading the blueprint three times, Zhang Tuohai took a deep breath.

This item was practically a divine artifact.

In this world, blueprints were among the most valuable things.

Take Zhang Tuohai for instance—if he hadn't obtained the crossbow blueprint, he wouldn't have been able to kill the black pig so easily. Without killing the pig, he wouldn't have traded for so many supplies, and he wouldn't be eating braised meat while others were still struggling for a bite of bread.

Simply put, blueprints are productivity.

Zhang Tuohai could personally attest to how low the drop rate of blueprints was; even with the help of his system, he had yet to come across one until now.

This statue that could increase blueprint drop rates was a true artifact.

However, there were a few issues: what exactly was a spirit fragment, and what was a Level 2 vehicle?

Zhang Tuohai quickly closed his eyes and started communicating with the game system.

“Can I ask what a spirit fragment is? And how can I upgrade to a Level 2 vehicle?”

【After killing beasts, there is a chance to obtain a spirit fragment. The quality of the fragment varies depending on the beast's grade.】

【Once you have a vehicle core, you can access the vehicle upgrade option. One vehicle core can upgrade a standard Level 1 vehicle to Level 2.】

“How do I obtain a vehicle core?” Zhang Tuohai asked anxiously.

【Destroy other vehicles.】

The cold response from the game system struck Zhang Tuohai like a lightning bolt.

He had always thought he only needed to face natural disasters and various beasts.

He hadn't expected that the other survivors would also be enemies.

For now, this information hadn’t been shared widely, so the area channel was still relatively harmonious.

However, this information would eventually be discovered.

When that time comes, what will everyone do?

Those with a ruthless streak will certainly start targeting others.

It seems he’ll need to be even more cautious in the future.

Zhang Tuohai heightened his vigilance.

At the same time, he had a rough idea of why Su Mu was able to bring out so many blueprints.

She likely obtained something similar to the mermaid statue.

Moreover, she and her sister were together, and sharing one car would save resources. Perhaps that was when they acquired a vehicle core and upgraded their vehicle to Level 2.

However, another problem that lay before Zhang Tuohai was how to obtain a vehicle core.

“Maybe I should take down that foolish woman?” Zhang Tuohai considered but quickly dismissed the idea.

He had just entered this post-apocalyptic world and wasn’t ruthless enough yet.

Forget it, he thought. He would gather the other materials first and figure out the rest later.

Zhang Tuohai loaded the supplies into his car and continued driving.

He had to admit, the quality of the supply crates on the right road was indeed much higher.

By noon, Zhang Tuohai had found another blue crate and a white one.

The blue crate contained two boxes of eggs and a pack of dehydrated vegetables.

The white crate contained five buckets of instant noodles.

This greatly diversified Zhang Tuohai’s food options.

Looking at the abundance of supplies, Zhang Tuohai decided to splurge a little. He cooked a bucket of instant noodles, and added two poached eggs, some dehydrated vegetables, and a large piece of braised meat, filling a small bowl to the brim.

“I never thought I’d be able to eat instant noodles that look just like the picture on the package in this damn world.”

Taking a bite of the tender and juicy braised meat, Zhang Tuohai's face filled with satisfaction.

He devoured the bowl of noodles in a flash, then leaned back comfortably in his chair and let out a contented burp.

This was the first full meal he had since arriving in this world.

A sense of happiness welled up inside him.

“So being full can feel this good,” Zhang Tuohai said, gazing out at the desert and sighing.

“By the way, how are those people doing?”

Zhang Tuohai opened the area channel.

“Has anyone found food? Can someone give me some food? I haven’t eaten in two days. I’m willing to trade my Rolex.”

Oh, are you still hanging in there, buddy?

Zhang Tuohai couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of this person.

From the first day, this guy had been spamming the chat, constantly trying to trade his Rolex for food.

But no one was willing to make the trade.

If only he would drive out and explore for a bit, he wouldn’t be in such dire straits.

Still, having a watch to keep track of time would be nice; it was really inconvenient not knowing the exact time.

With that thought, Zhang Tuohai felt a spark of interest. He rummaged through his supplies and sent the guy a message.

“One pound of braised meat for your Rolex, plus all the gasoline in your car. You’re not using it anyway, and it’s a waste to keep the gasoline there. Better give it to me.”

“One pound of braised meat? That’s too little! My Rolex has a certificate and could fetch tens of thousands even in a second-hand market. One pound of meat is too little—at least 100 pounds, plus 100 bottles of mineral water,” the man responded immediately.

Reading this, Zhang Tuohai sneered: “A hundred pounds? Are you dreaming? Do you still think this is the old world? Take a look—can your Rolex even get you a piece of bread? You’ve been asking for a day and a half, you know the situation. I’m only interested in your Rolex as a side deal; the real value is in the gasoline. Take it or leave it.”

After sending the message, Zhang Tuohai didn’t bother to reply anymore.