"Am I just imagining things? It feels like the weather is getting hotter and hotter..."

"I have to be careful with my water every day, I can't live like this anymore!"

"You guessed it, I have a thermometer. The average daily daytime temperature has risen by 7 or 8 degrees these past few days..."

"Don't even mention it, I couldn't even open a single bottle of water yesterday."

"Damn it, I chose the wrong road. This road is so crooked and twisted, I feel like throwing up."

"Does anyone sell motion sickness medicine? I urgently need it, and I can exchange it for water. My 6-year-old daughter gets very carsick."

Xi Xi stared intently at the scrolling messages on the public screen, her gaze focused and meaningful. Discussions about the desert's escalating temperature had become increasingly frequent in recent days.

Xi Xi's heart sank; she knew the situation might be far more serious than she had imagined.

"I have a question. I've been feeling dizzy, nauseous, and wanting to vomit, and I also experience occasional hand and foot cramps. What could be causing this?"

"Damn it, I've given up. I only eat one meal a day now."

"It might be heatstroke..."

"Is it really worth getting the suitcase? I went through all that trouble to get a suitcase, and there wasn't even a bottle of water inside?"

"What can you do if you don't take it? Starve to death."

"It's better for everyone in the car to take turns getting down to retrieve the boxes; one person just can't handle it."

"Yes, the driver shouldn't get out of the car. Let a relative who can't drive get it. It's better to divide the work among ourselves."

"No, my child is only 4 years old."

...

On the public chat, many players are grouping up with relatives from the same household registration.

Xi Xi couldn't help but think of her parents. She quickly contacted her mother. Fortunately, Ms. Chu had a temperature-regulating cloak, which was still able to withstand the current hot weather.

Ms. Chu told Xi Xi not to worry, and even gave her the high-level treasure chest she had just acquired.

After a moment's thought, Xi Xi did not immediately open the treasure chest, but instead brought out the ice-making machine. Before long, crystal-clear ice blocks were made.

She carefully packed the ice cubes into an insulated container, sealed it, and then handed the refreshing ice cubes to Xi's mother.

Just then, a thought suddenly flashed into her mind—it was time to return to her old profession.

Xi Xi immediately opened her personal trading homepage. After a moment of contemplation, she changed the homepage name from "Left Supply Station, Do Not Disturb" to "Stream Courtyard".

Immediately afterwards, Xi Xi posted the trade for the treasure chest in exchange for ice.

An unopened beginner chest can be exchanged for a box of ice. As the chest level increases, the amount of ice increases exponentially. The additional condition is that the chest must be obtained today.

There was no other reason than that everyone lacked effective ways to cool off, and she needed to use the treasure chest to duplicate supplies—that was all.

The stable water resources that Xi Xi obtained through the hand pump well were her bargaining chips.

"Great! It's Sister Xi! We're saved!"

"Sis, really, I'm going to cry my eyes out."

"One beginner treasure chest for one box of ice? Oh, the beginner level can open three supplies..."

"What size box?"

"No way, you manage to get good stuff from every single beginner treasure chest?"

"This is ice, not water; its value speaks for itself."

"Holy crap, I'm really saved! I'm not kidding, all I got from the beginner treasure chests were useless stones and wood, I lost so much money!"

"It feels like it's both a good deal and a bad deal..."

"If you don't think it's worth the money, then don't buy it."

"It's very friendly to us unlucky players; it's a great safety net."

"Is it okay if the treasure chest inside has been opened but the supplies inside haven't been touched?"

"How could that be? I feel like Xi Lao is trying to rely on luck to get high-quality supplies. Look at her golden-edged lucky charm."

"Oh, I knew it!"

"Thank you so much! I really need physical cooling methods to lower my fever, sob sob."

...

Before long, a mountain of unopened treasure chests had piled up in front of Xi Xi. The vast majority of these chests were basic treasure chests, but there were also some high-level chests among them that were quite generous.

Xi Xi accepted everything without hesitation, and then enthusiastically began to copy the supplies in the box, taking advantage of her "lucky" fortune.

As time passed, the once spacious carriage gradually became cramped, with various items scattered haphazardly, creating an extremely chaotic scene.

The car is indeed a bit too small... Xi Xi couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

Bending over for a long time to sort supplies made her back ache. She reached out and pounded her stiff lower back before slowly straightening up.

At that very moment, a muffled thud was heard—because she hadn't been paying attention to what was above her head when she stood up, her head had hit the roof of the car hard again.

It was so embarrassing... Luckily, Aura and the little white duck were entertaining themselves outside the car, so no one saw her predicament.

Xi Xi reluctantly took stock of the supplies and found that most of them were just ordinary daily necessities.

Items such as gasoline and clothing are plentiful. However, drinking water is significantly scarce compared to the novice driver's protection period.

Fortunately, you can occasionally find some useful talismans and high-performance items in treasure chests.

For example, the push wheel that Xi Xi is currently playing with in her hands is specifically for cleaning up pet hair, a comb for grooming pet fur, and there is also a large bag of freeze-dried food that cats love and several boxes of delicious cat treats, etc.

After thinking for a moment, Xi Xi packed up some gasoline and essential daily necessities and then passed them on to her mother.

Then she immediately set to work, carefully sorting and packing the remaining supplies, filling every available corner of the carriage as much as possible.

The aquarium that was previously acquired was supposed to be a beautiful ornamental object, but now it has become Xi Xi's storage box.

The fish tank was crammed with all sorts of items, which Xi Xi then covered with a silk scarf to hide, essentially burying her head in the sand.

Xi Xi browsed the trading hall for a while but still couldn't find a suitable storage box, so she had to return to her personal trading homepage to continue collecting treasure chests.

However, the number of treasure chest transactions dropped significantly in an instant, which surprised her.