Chapter 16

Qiao Ning didn't know what to say, so she could only put as many of her unused supplies as possible up for exchange to buy materials.

Perhaps because of this precedent, many wealthy players with resources no longer hesitated to hoard them and put some of them up for sale to help others get through the difficult times.

The chat channel has seen a rare surge of mutual help and solidarity, and the previously rapidly declining number of online users has begun to stabilize.

Slightly relieved, Qiao Ning leaned back on the small bed and opened the supply box she had collected that day.

There are a total of 66 supply boxes: 1 five-star box, 20 four-star boxes, 25 three-star boxes, 15 two-star boxes, and 5 one-star boxes.

Overall, the results were very good.

Qiao Ning saved the surprise of the 5-star box for last and opened the other boxes first.

She had given up hope of getting any more materials; they were still scarce. And today, not much food or drink was available; it was mostly moisturizing items and props.

With more high-star chests available, the quality and quantity of the loot obtained from them significantly increase.

Moisturizing Set *30, Humidifying Water Balls *60

Drinking water*20 liters, gasoline*200 units

External wound spray*30, internal wound medicine*25

Medical first aid kit*20, heatstroke prevention medicine*40 boxes

Car protective film *20, vehicle maintenance card *25

24 reinforced tires, 1 car upgrade blueprint

Several weapons including cleavers, machetes, Tang swords, guns, bullets, and medicine.

In addition, there were some supplies that had never been obtained before:

Desiccant*10, Moisture-proof Camphor Balls*20

Qiao Ning immediately remembered what the system had said before: the seventh day after a natural disaster is the settlement day, and a prompt for the next type of natural disaster will be given.

These desiccants and mothballs must be what they call "warnings," right?

She scrolled through the chat channels and found that no one else seemed to have received such an obvious notification as her regarding moisture-proof supplies.

There were a few rather unusual messages:

[When I got out of the car today, I encountered something very strange: a swarm of cockroaches inexplicably appeared on the road! It's really odd; aren't these things more likely to breed in damp places? It's so dry outside, I don't know how these little rascals survived.]

[No wonder they're cockroaches; they can survive even in such extreme weather.]

[I hadn't even remembered if you hadn't mentioned it, but I encountered bugs today too, not outside, but in a corner of my car! Woodlice have appeared! It's unbelievable! I was so dry I had nosebleeds, and these things still grew in my car.]

Qiao Ning scrolled down and found at least several hundred more players claiming to have encountered abnormal situations. If only one person encountered it, it might be a game accident, but if so many people encountered it, it was definitely not just an accident.

Sure enough, someone commented below: "[I remember the game system reminded us before that there would be a notification about the next natural disaster on the seventh day after the disaster. Could these unusual situations be a kind of notification?]"

[Holy crap, now that you mention it, it dawned on me! Could the next natural disaster be insects?! Please, no! I'm terrified of insects! Especially swarms of them—just thinking about it gives me the creeps and triggers my trypophobia!]

[An insect plague? I don't think so...]

My major is entomology. Looking at the types of insects that have been identified, they include Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, and so on. I don't see any commonalities in these categories. However, I've noticed a very peculiar phenomenon: these insects all prefer to live in dark, damp places, and some even exhibit photophobia (avoidance of light).

Therefore, I think the next natural disaster will most likely be related to sunlight and humidity.

Qiao Ning had been hesitant about whether to anonymously send a message informing everyone of the type of the next natural disaster, but now she didn't need to worry about it anymore. In a game server with tens of thousands of players, there were quite a few knowledgeable people who could easily deduce the type of disaster.

There's one last 5-star chest left.

Opening it triggers the daily lucky star passive effect "Lucky Star Descends", which contains only one item: a skill book.

Skill Book: Basic Body Refinement

Level: Purple (can be upgraded by fusing with the same skill book)

Effect: Beginner - +5000 to each basic attribute

Proficiency - All basic attributes double

Mastery - Increases base attributes by 200%

Masterful Skill - Base Attributes Increased by 300%

Reaching the Pinnacle – Base Attributes Increased by 500%

The basic attributes are actually just three: attack, defense, and speed.

Qiao Ning's attribute panel was blank before. After learning the blue-level Flaming Blade Technique, she gained 3,000 attack power. This means that no matter what weapon she uses to attack the enemy, she will deal 3,000 damage. Of course, if the opponent has defensive equipment, this value will be reduced.

Even equipment with only a few hundred defense points from the beginner stage is selling for astronomical prices on the trading market, which shows how valuable 3000 attack points are.

This purple skill book is even more impressive. Although it doesn't have any special effects, it does have a proficiency level effect. The higher the proficiency, the stronger the effect.

It can increase her three basic attributes by up to 500%!

If she survives to the later stages of the game, her base stats will be absolutely terrifying! She'll be even more boss-like than the boss itself!

Qiao Ning immediately learned the skill book, but the game obviously wouldn't let her have it so easy—she found that after learning it, her proficiency was displayed as 0, and she couldn't find a way to upgrade her basic body refinement.

Whether it's physical activity, driving, or doing anything else, this level of proficiency remains unchanged, like an ancient tortoise.

Qiao Ning sighed and could only put it aside for the time being.

She contacted Li Yangxing and traded wound medicine, her homemade meals, and moisturizing products for a batch of materials.

Her current material inventory:

Iron ingots 35,000, copper ingots 33,000, silver ingots 27,000, gold ingots 15,000

Plastic 38000, Rubber 30000, Glass 29000

8000 glue

This is a rough estimate; it doesn't even include the odd amounts. Most of the materials were obtained through trading supplies these past two days, the rest were traded with Li Yangxing, and the portion she obtained herself... can be disregarded.

She has upgraded her storage box three times, and it now has 200 cubic meters, which is quite spacious. So she plans to use some of the blind box coins she has accumulated.

She only opened a blind box once, which cost her 10 coins. At that time, she had 17 coins left and 70 experience points.

The number of supply boxes collected in the following days were: 43, 45, 45, 66, 54, and 66 respectively.

There are 336 in total. The total experience points are 3137. I claimed the experience chest once for 100 points, once for 500 points, once for 1000 points, and once for 2000 points. I need to reach 4000 points to claim it next time.

Qiao Ning hasn't opened the three experience chests yet, and she's saving them up, planning to open them all at once later.

Ten blind box coins can be used for one draw, and Qiao Ning wants to do a 10-draw first.

The rest can be dealt with in the next natural disaster.

During the beginner period, there is only one natural disaster cycle: drought. This means that the number of supply boxes and the drop rate of supplies will be greatly reduced during the next natural disaster. It is better to save your blind box coins for when you need them.

She's doing a 10-pull now, hoping to get some blueprints, specifically the three types of car upgrade blueprints: car integration blueprints, car modification blueprints, and car reinforcement blueprints.

If she can draw it, she can upgrade her car again, and have a better chance when the next natural disaster comes.

Qiao Ning was still very excited as she tried to open another blind box. The familiar spinning wheel appeared before her eyes. After waiting a few seconds, Qiao Ning pressed stop based on her intuition. Immediately afterwards, several different colored lights flashed, and the system notification sent ten messages in a row—