RBCT Chapter 7 The Cruelty of the Apocalypse, Please Give Me a Little Oil!
Chapter 7 The Cruelty of the Apocalypse, Please Give Me a Little Oil!
He compared the two: the blueprints and materials required installation, which was troublesome, but might have research value later. The prop cards were simple, direct, and immediately effective.
He preferred the latter, as time was of the essence and there was no time to slowly install it.
He messaged "Lucky Dog" privately: "[Item Card: Level 1 Bumper Bar (Solid)], 3 units of fuel, want to trade?"
The other party replied almost instantly: "Wow! 5 sets! That's the lowest price ever! This card is incredibly rare!"
Cao Shuang: "Four portions. If you don't want to change, I'll find someone else."
"Lucky Dog" seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before finally replying, "...Okay! Four portions it is! You're a generous boss! How about the trade?"
The game has a built-in trading system. Once both parties confirm the items, they can directly complete the exchange through the system, eliminating fraud.
Cao Shuang confirmed that the item card information sent by the other party was correct, and then attached one unit of universal fuel. Both parties confirmed.
[Transaction complete. You lost: Universal Fuel x1. You gained: Item Card: Level 1 Bumper Bar (Solid) x1.]
A card with a metallic gray sheen appeared in Cao Shuang's hand, engraved with a simple design of a bumper. Without hesitation, he silently recited in his mind:
"Use, target: this vehicle, front position."
The card transformed into a stream of light, blending into the worn-out front of a Wuling Hongguang van.
A low, metallic hum and the sound of structural reassembly rang out, then subsided after about ten seconds.
Cao Shuang got out of the car to check and saw that there was a thick, angular, matte black alloy bumper in front of the car. Although it didn't match the original car body style, the connection was seamless, as if it were the original part.
He brought up the data panel:
Vehicle: 08 Wuling Hongguang (modified)
[Level: 1]
[Defense: 10 (+5)]
[Space: 8 cubic meters]
External weapons: None
Fuel: ∞
[Rating: F. It's gone from one thin layer of sheet metal to three layers—a welcome improvement! At least now it won't fall apart if you hit a dog.]
Defense went from 5 to 10! A direct increase of 5 points! Although the evaluation was still harsh, the improvement was real! Cao Shuang nodded in satisfaction; this deal was worthwhile!
He was about to continue browsing the trading channel to see if there were any other good items, such as weapon parts or higher-level enhancement items, when his private message channel started flashing wildly.
Besides various purchase requests, sales pitches, and seductive messages, a particularly eye-catching ID popped up—Liu Ruyan.
Cao Shuang frowned and clicked on it.
Liu Ruyan: "Cao Shuang, it's me. I saw you selling fuel. I didn't expect you to be so lucky as to actually find some. How about this, for the sake of our past relationship, you can give me five portions of fuel."
"I can trade you... um, two servings of self-heating rice. You know, food is precious these days. By the way, Zhang Qiang's car is a Class C, it's fast, we can look after each other in the future. How about it?"
She also added an emoji that she thought was cute to the message.
Cao Shuang stared at the message for a few seconds, then a feeling of utter absurdity and ridiculousness welled up inside him, almost making him burst out laughing.
Five servings of all-purpose fuel in exchange for two servings of self-heating rice? And "out of consideration for past relationships"?
"Looking out for each other"? Does she think the whole world should revolve around her and indulge her inexplicable sense of superiority? Where does she get the nerve?
He could almost picture the condescending, self-satisfied expression on Liu Ruyan's face when she sent that message.
They probably thought Cao Shuang would be extremely grateful and eagerly deliver the fuel, hoping for her and Zhang Qiang's "support"?
"Oh……"
Cao Shuang let out a short, cold laugh, his eyes full of mockery.
He didn't even bother to reply with a single word. He simply found Liu Ruyan's ID, blocked her decisively, and then casually added Zhang Qiang's ID to the blacklist as well.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Having done all that, he lost interest in continuing the transaction. Of the 70 units of fuel, 4 had been used, leaving 64. This was a strategic reserve and couldn't be touched lightly.
Who can guarantee that we won't encounter situations in the future where we need fuel as a form of currency? Or, could this fuel possibly have other uses?
He turned off the trading channel and the incessantly flashing private messages, and the world instantly became much quieter.
……
Cao Shuang calmed down and soon felt hungry, after all, half a day had passed.
Without hesitation, Cao Shuang immediately took out a steak set meal.
After a hot, even lavish, steak dinner, the warm, full feeling and the lingering taste of black pepper sauce almost gave Chu Yao an absurd illusion.
It felt as if we weren't on an endless, death-threatening highway, but in a safe and comfortable restaurant.
She sipped the last bit of the complimentary juice, sighed contentedly, and glanced at Cao Shuang, who was still browsing the regional channel next to her.
Cao Shuang ate quickly but cleanly, and was now staring at her phone screen with a slight frown.
Chu Yao subconsciously opened the regional channel. In just half a day, the atmosphere in the channel had completely changed.
The initial novelty, panic, and ostentation are rarely seen anymore; instead, there are vast swathes of desperate wails, frantic curses, and final words.
[Coordinates 278km, fog is coming! It's here! Someone help me! My car is out of gas! No—!! (Signal interrupted)]
Wife, kids, I'm so sorry... I couldn't get a crate... and we're out of gas...
Why?! Why is my car a children's car?! I hate it!
[Hahaha, die, all of you! Die together! If I can't live, neither can you! (Attached: blurry video of the car crashing into another vehicle)]
[Help! Monster! There's something in the shadows by the roadside! It snatched the person from the car next to mine!]
[Regional population statistics: 9,043,221...9,012,777...The numbers are still dropping! Nearly a million people have died in half a day?!]
The cold numbers roll on, and behind each decreasing number lies the loss of a vibrant life and the annihilation of a desperate soul.
Those cries, sobs, and curses before death, conveyed a suffocatingly bloody stench through the cold words.
The color drained from Chu Yao's face instantly, and the warmth from her recent meal vanished, leaving only a chilling cold that shot from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
She involuntarily hugged her arms tightly, her body trembling slightly.
If it weren't for Cao Shuang, if he hadn't pulled me onto this bus, if he hadn't frantically picked up boxes regardless of fuel consumption... would one of those desperate names on the channel be "Chu Chu"?
She could almost picture herself clutching two bottles of water, crying helplessly by the roadside, only to be swallowed up by the slowly and relentlessly catching gray fog, or kidnapped and killed by other players who were blinded by rage.
The lingering fear washed over her like a cold tide, wave after wave, making her feel even a little dizzy.
"Did you see clearly?" Cao Shuang's calm voice came through as he put away his phone, the screen's light reflecting off his expressionless face.
"This is the end times. When you die, you lose everything."
Chu Yao nodded vigorously, her voice trembling slightly:
"I...I saw it clearly, thank...thank you, Cao Shuang."
This time, the gratitude was more sincere than ever before, mixed with immense relief at surviving the ordeal and a complex dependence on the man before her.