Chapter 25: Skyrocketing Prices

Song Yu had spent every day of the torrential rain in this high-rise building, keeping active in the surrounding area alongside Xiao Hei.

On the morning of the 17th day of the game, the rain that had poured for five full days finally ceased. Song Yu and Xiao Hei were at last able to head out for exploration. Her plan was to first locate Tree Source to clear out her inventory slots, and then find Chen Su to trade in all of her mutant blood.

Currently, Song Yu’s inventory contained 782 vials of Tier 1 mutant blood, 213 vials of Tier 2, 37 vials of Tier 3, and 9 vials of Tier 4. Leveraging the terrain, Song Yu had managed to kill four Tier 4 zombies during the daylight hours, earning 12,000 RMB and triggering her talent multiple times. Xiao Hei’s "Three Hands" talent experience had also reached level 5; there was a decent chance it could be upgraded to level 2 before they left this instance. Once the blood was traded, she would head to the harbor district.

Song Yu had planned everything out perfectly. Due to the previous looting spree organized by the players, a massive number of them had perished in Yangliu City; it was estimated that fewer than one in ten remained. Over the ten-plus days of rain, Song Yu had stockpiled enough clean water to replenish 53,000 hydration points, along with 70,000 points worth of wastewater, most of which was stored in Xiao Hei’s space. However, their food supplies were running low, with only ten standard nutritional meals remaining.

"After all this rain, there should be mushrooms, right?" Song Yu gazed at the sky, which had finally cleared, though a faint chill still lingered in the air. The thought of the fresh, tender taste of wild mushrooms made her mouth water. And bamboo shoots! If she remembered correctly, there was a large bamboo forest behind the village where she had stayed previously. Thinking of this, Song Yu quickened her pace.

The five-day downpour had taken a toll on the zombies as well, with many suffering from negative status effects like [Rotting], [Osteoporosis], and [Olfactory Dysfunction], among other bizarre afflictions. Since Song Yu and Xiao Hei had sufficient resources, they hadn't encountered any health issues, and even if they had, Song Yu had enough medicine to handle them. The zombies on the streets were in such a state of decay that Song Yu could easily wipe them out. She felt confident she could reach Tree Source before nightfall. Along the way, she encountered members of the Qilin and Watcher organizations; the vast majority of the city’s NPCs had joined them.

The remaining individuals were mostly formidable lone-wolf NPC merchants. Because of the players' previous actions, they were cold toward Song Yu. However, cold as they were, they harbored no malice, and seeing her with a dog, they were willing to answer her questions. Song Yu and Xiao Hei successfully learned from them that Tree Source was currently at the old Yangliu City library. It was quite a distance away.

Chen Su’s new operating area, however, was not far. The woman and the dog sprinted down the street, forming a unique sight. In less than two hours, they tracked her down. Chen Su was surrounded by many players, and a brief glance told Song Yu that they were all suffering from various negative status effects. Their sickly appearance was obvious; it looked as if they wouldn't last another two days. Song Yu calmly stepped past them to reach Chen Su.

Chen Su’s attitude toward Song Yu was distant, devoid of her previous friendliness, though their acquaintance had never been deep to begin with. Song Yu examined Chen Su’s wares and, after a moment’s deliberation, traded away all her mutant blood. She exchanged one vial of Tier 4 blood for a 50L box of gasoline for a car. She didn't bother with keys, relying on her "Locksmith" talent to open doors through trial and error. For the remaining blood, she traded for 60 cans each of random meat, fruit, and vegetables.

Following the disaster, the prices of goods at Chen Su’s had inflated at least tenfold. Compressed biscuits that originally cost 10 vials of Tier 1 blood now cost 1 vial of Tier 2. All other supplies had seen varying degrees of price hikes and were now being rationed. Song Yu spent 5 vials of Tier 4 blood on her 240 cans, which was the maximum she and Xiao Hei could purchase. She also exchanged for 60 portions of standard nutritional meals, a bag of flour, two packs of yeast, a set of common seasonings, as well as rain boots, raincoats, umbrellas, and lighters.

Every drop of mutant blood was spent. Unfortunately, she couldn't afford more inventory slots.

"Have mercy, please, give me something..." As Song Yu and Xiao Hei were about to leave, someone grabbed her pant leg, wheezing, "Give me some medical supplies."

Song Yu had expected them to beg for food, but she hadn't anticipated a request for medical supplies. Yet, it made sense; they were likely in greater need of medicine than food. In the post-rain city, food and water weren't necessarily scarce, provided one dared to scavenge. Song Yu wasn't that kind-hearted, and she didn't have many medical supplies to spare, most being bandages for health recovery. She easily shook off the player’s hand, scanned the area, and walked away without taking action.

While these players looked like they were on the verge of death, one should never underestimate them. They were certainly capable of taking out Song Yu and Xiao Hei. With so many of them present, even if Song Yu used a gun, she couldn't kill them all at once. "Don't chase a desperate foe"—that was the rule for people like these. They were likely not as weak as they appeared.

After leaving Chen Su, Song Yu found an open space to try her hand at picking the lock of a car. It didn't take more than two attempts for her to start the vehicle with the gasoline she had acquired. Song Yu didn't have a driver's license, but there were no traffic police in this world to worry about. The car wobbled and lurched onto the road as Song Yu followed the map toward the library. Having a car made things much easier; she estimated she could still make it to the mountains to dig for bamboo shoots before dark.

Drizzling rain tapped against the windows as Song Yu kept her eyes fixed on the path ahead. The value of mutant blood at Chen Su’s had plummeted, making it pointless to keep hunting zombies; the costs outweighed the gains. To collect that blood, she had used up most of her nails and arrows, leaving her with very few. And all that effort had yielded so little.

There were occasional signs of NPCs and players on the streets. As she passed an unfinished building, she noticed quite a few figures on it. Judging by their ragged clothes, they were players. Were they gathering to cause trouble again? However, a sign soon eased her concerns:

[Player Trading Market — Straight Ahead! Violence is Prohibited!!]