Lin Ye: I've also got some bread and mineral water. Limited quantity. PM me if you're interested. Trading for items from the maze, highest bidder wins. (I don't know the value of those things yet, so decide for yourself if it's worth the trade).
"Damn, I'm about to starve to death, and this big shot already has food to spare for trades."
"Wait, if you have extra food, shouldn't you be giving it to people in need? The ones who can trade with you definitely aren't starving!"
Seeing these kinds of comments, Lin Ye simply blocked them. After blocking them, neither party could see the other's comments or trade offers, which was better for both sides.
Lin Ye wouldn't have to see such cringey comments, and they wouldn't have to be jealous of Lin Ye.
In any case, Lin Ye had no intention of trading with people like that. Out of sight, out of mind.
Lin Ye didn't post the message because he had some kind of savior complex. He did want to show other survivors a path to survival, but he also had his own goals.
Fame and fortune were always inseparable. As long as he built up his reputation, everything he did later would be that much easier, perhaps even more so.
He didn't need to do much. As long as he released correct information ahead of time, others would naturally come to respectfully call him Goose Leg Bro.
Lin Ye lay on his bed, checking his private messages. He skipped past the junk and looked for valuable trades.
The great goose lay beside Lin Ye, its head rubbing against his arm, its wing draped over him like a blanket.
Soon, Lin Ye completed several trades. The cards and liquids from the treasure chests would surely be worth more than bread in the future. He even suspected that those items only dropped after the chest quality was upgraded; bread and mineral water were the normal loot from mahogany chests.
"Huh? A blueprint?"
In a private message, a survivor named Zhang Liang had sent him information about a blueprint.
【Rankless Aberrant Weapon Crafting Blueprint】
【Use this blueprint to craft one rankless Aberrant Weapon. Materials required: 1-5 Aberrant Organs.】
【Note: Pay attention to the combination of materials. More materials do not necessarily make a stronger weapon.】
No one in their right mind would trade a weapon blueprint for a few pieces of bread. Lin Ye felt the other party might have other motives.
Lin Ye: What do you want for it?
Zhang Liang: Bro, you're a hard man to get a hold of.
Lin Ye: I don't like to waste time.
Zhang Liang: Bro, we've established an organization called the Mutual Aid Society. It's full of experts with powerful Innate Abilities. Our president hopes you'll join us.
Lin Ye: I'll pass. You guys go for it.
Zhang Liang: Don't be so hasty, bro. With your abilities, if you join the Mutual Aid Society, you'll get at least one blueprint like this every day.
Lin Ye: What do I have to give in return?
Zhang Liang: Nothing much. You just need to provide information to the Mutual Aid Society like you did today. Unlike those White-Eyed Wolves in the public chat, the Mutual Aid Society will naturally reward you.
Lin Ye: So you profit from my intel, and then give me a cut?
Zhang Liang: ...You could put it that way.
Lin Ye: Have you ever considered that many people will die because of you?
Zhang Liang: It's just a normal exchange of effort and reward. Those who don't contribute shouldn't get the information. That's how it should be.
Lin Ye: You're right.
Zhang Liang: But you're not accepting?
Lin Ye: You're right.
Lin Ye closed the private chat with Zhang Liang and continued trading with others.
Lin Ye could do what Zhang Liang described. He could set up a similar organization himself, but he didn't need to.
The Mutual Aid Society had something going for it, but their vision was still too small. If they were going to call themselves the Mutual Aid Society, they should be trying to save all of humanity. Now *that* would be interesting.
Short-term gains and losses weren't important. The Mutual Aid Society couldn't give him what he truly needed.
...
Zhang Liang: President, he refused.
Wu Ming: A pity. His Innate Ability must be a very strong early-game one. With his help, the Mutual Aid Society could help more people.
Zhang Liang: Should I get a few people to smear his name? Say the information he gave was faulty. A lot of people haven't been to the maze anyway.
Wu Ming: No need. We also need the information he provides. We'll earn a little less this way, but it's still more than what those unaffiliated people make.
Besides, there's no need to antagonize him right now. If something happened right after you sent the invitation, anyone would be able to guess it was us.
Zhang Liang: You're right.
Wu Ming: Have the people who went out to explore returned?
Zhang Liang: Most of them died as soon as they went out. The lucky ones lasted a few more minutes. Should we keep sending people out to explore?
Wu Ming: Forget it. It seems for the early stage, we can only go to the Red Maze to gather materials.
Zhang Liang: You're right.
...
【Please draw today's card】
After a dreamless night, Lin Ye saw this prompt the moment he opened his eyes.
"My turn! Draw card!"
Though he had just woken up, Lin Ye stood up from the bed, invigorated, and performed his daily gacha draw.
The card he drew this time had a cat on it.
The card dissipated, and a cat with blood-red fur appeared gracefully in the center of Lin Ye's Sanctuary.
The cat leaped nimbly onto Lin Ye's bed, turned onto its side, and lay against his leg.
Lin Ye stroked the cat's soft fur and suddenly thought that having a pet like this wasn't so bad. He wouldn't have to worry about a thing, just pet it every day.
And he could even get a different breed every day.
"What can you give me? You're not going to give me a cat-leg meal, are you? I've never eaten cat meat."
"Meow~"
A System prompt suddenly appeared before Lin Ye's eyes:
【Boon from the Card received. Before each action, draw one item. This item can only be used during the current action and will disappear after the action ends.】
"Huh? You did this?"
"Meow~"
"But what counts as an 'action'?"
In response to Lin Ye's question, the cat just purred lazily, showing no intention of answering.
Just like the great goose, it could only have simple interactions with Lin Ye.
Lin Ye didn't press further. He petted the cat, ate something, and then used his daily Innate Ability.
...
【Simulating D-Class Personnel: Larry】
【Drawing item...】
【Item Obtained: Abyssal Egg】
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【Simulations Remaining: 10】
*Bzzzz...*
Lin Ye sat in the prison transport with a look of resignation. Ever since coming to this place, he had to ride in a prison transport once a day. Back on Blue Star, he had barely even been to a police station, and that was just to get an ID card or other documents.
Larry was a brawny man around fifty with bronze skin, covered in solid muscle. Lin Ye felt that in this body, he could kill his own scrawny self with a single punch.
The System had placed the Abyssal Egg in Lin Ye's right pants pocket. It was the size of a quail's egg and felt a bit like a peeled, hard-boiled egg.
Lin Ye squeezed it and found it was highly resilient; it wouldn't get crushed in his pocket.
Anything related to the Abyss had left a very bad impression on him, and he had no idea how to use this thing.
This time, Lin Ye only had two teammates, though there were still four Regulatory Personnel.
The other two D-Class Personnel looked like they were not to be trifled with, the same type of person as Larry.
Before long, the prison transport stopped near the entrance of a tunnel.
Proofreader: Peter Pan