Chapter 18: Disaster Scenario

“Why did it look at my dad for two extra seconds when he recognized it as his master?” Yan Yu asked.

“Wasn’t this ox ordered by that guy before? The Ox-Demon King has Level 1 authority, while Princess Iron Fan and Red Boy have secondary authority. When commands conflict, it will execute the command from the higher authority.”

The uncle was so excited he wished he could immediately butcher the ox, but reason ultimately prevailed. Each time the platform activated was extremely precious, and he couldn’t waste it.

“Then what’s your codename?” Yan Yu asked, purely out of curiosity.

“Hongjun!”

Okay, you’re impressive!

“What if I want to add more authority?”

“Level 2 authority can be designated. You just tell it, ‘That’s the Ox-Demon King’s mother,’ ‘That’s Princess Iron Fan’s older brother,’ ‘Those are Red Boy’s younger siblings,’ any of those will work.

However, it’s best if you keep this ox for your own use. Tell outsiders your ox is shy with strangers, so it won’t obey anyone else’s commands. That’s better and safer,” he kindly advised.

Yan Yu nodded gravely. This point truly needed attention.

“Uncle, do you have any toilet paper to trade?” Yan Yu wasn’t embarrassed at all. Why be embarrassed about something so essential in life?

“Cough, cough! Uh, over here, sister, we all have smart toilets, the very intelligent kind, so we don’t need that sort of thing. It’s not that they don’t sell it, but there’s definitely none in District 87 where I live. This place is the lowest rung of society, like a slum.

You can wait for the next two unlucky souls; maybe you’ll be able to trade for what you want.

Oh, right, how about trading for some of my nutrient solution? It’s essential for home and travel; one bottle gives you all the nutrition you need, especially good for fleeing disasters. What do you say, little sister? I see you still have a basin of pork skin jelly, hehe!”

“That’s not urgent. Uncle, you know a lot. Can you tell me how to buy things on the platform to get the best deal?”

“I can help you strategize, but you have to trade that pork skin jelly to me.”

“Uncle, what will I do after I trade it to you? I’ll have nothing left! Could you just give me some pointers? If I understand these things, won’t I be able to provide you with more delicious food in the future?”

He thought about it. That made sense. His store’s inventory was completely incomparable to hers.

“Just try them one by one. If it shows a number, it means it can be sold.

As for whether it’s a good deal or not, I don’t know what the unit price is on your side, but it’s quite cheap here for me.

Basically, you rarely get a bad deal buying from the official store. It’s just that the quantities are small; whatever is displayed is what you get, and there are no containers.

You need to pay attention to that when you buy; prepare something to hold it beforehand.”

“I put an egg up there, and it showed the number 1.”

“Just treat it as one unit of currency. If you only sell and don’t buy, your balance will remain.”

“But I saw…”

The egg above only cost 0.5, what’s going on?

Before Yan Yu could finish speaking, the screen automatically switched back.

She didn’t rush to tap the flickering Free Market, but instead tried tapping the cheapest egg.

[Confirm Purchase?]

[Yes] [No]

Yes!

A pure white egg appeared on the ground.

[Current Balance: 0.5]

“I thought 0.5 was the price for that whole basket of eggs; turns out it’s just for one,” Yan Yu said regretfully.

If it were for a whole basket, she would have hit the jackpot and achieved egg freedom!

“You child, you didn’t even say anything! Good thing it’s just an egg; it’s fine on the ground. But what if it were rice or flour piled on the ground? What a waste!” Li Xuemei said, while bringing over the quilt that had been sun-dried during the day and spreading it on the ground.

This will do for now; it’s better than putting it directly on the ground.

Yan Yu picked up the egg and put it back into the slot.

Li Xuemei: …

[Current Balance: 1]

“Why? They’re both eggs, so why are the platform’s eggs cheaper?” Yan Yu grumbled indignantly. She still hadn’t given up on the idea of exploiting the official store for benefits.

Yan Lao’er’s thought process was identical to his daughter’s, and he also lamented deeply, “They don’t even let you exploit a single loophole!”

Li Xuemei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You two, that’s enough. This is already more than enough care for us.”

“Aha!” Yan Lao’er slapped his thigh. “Ours are genuine free-range farm eggs! That egg we just bought was probably from chickens fed with feed. Otherwise, why would it be cheaper than ours?”

Yan Yu thought about it. He had a point.

She looked at her father with admiring eyes and exclaimed, “Dad, you’re truly a man of the world!”

“Haha, of course! I frequent the wet markets and supermarkets.” Yan Lao’er was quite pleased with himself. This was what being the head of the household meant: he managed everything, both inside and outside the home.

Yan Yu: “Dad, when you brought things back during the day, did Eldest Uncle see them?”

“No, your Eldest Uncle and Eldest Brother were only busy tidying up their books.”

“Then Dad, quietly, grab a handful of brown rice when you go back, and a few chunks of coarse salt too.”

“Alright!” Yan Lao’er agreed, turning to leave the room.

But his wife pulled him back. “Bring those two big iron wheels into the house too. I don’t feel safe leaving them outside.”

Yan Yu clicked open the Free Market.

She began her second connection.

Honestly, it was like opening a blind box every time, quite exciting.

The scene shifted, and a soaking wet woman appeared on the screen.

“Oh? A little sister I haven’t seen before.” She leaned in a bit closer. “Is it an ancient setting?”

Yan Yu summarized in the style of the punk uncle, finding that it allowed the other party to understand her more quickly. “Hello, Sister. I transmigrated into a book, it’s a fictional dynasty, and there’s a drought. My family is also poor.

Our food and daily necessities are similar to ancient China. Today is my first time activating the platform, and I haven’t fully figured out the situation yet. Right now, I most want to trade for toilet paper.”

“Hehe, little sister, you learn very quickly. I’m also a newcomer; this is my second time activating the platform. You should be able to see my category: also transmigrated into a book, disaster scenario.

In the last 20-minute slot, I didn’t connect with anyone. Luckily, I have you this time.

I do have toilet paper… but it’s just that…” She turned around awkwardly and rummaged for a long time, pulling out a white, pulpy lump stuck together. She said shyly, “Take a look, they’re all like this.”

Yan Yu: …

Seeing that lump, if you hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t have recognized what it originally was at all.

“Sister, how long has it been raining where you are?”

“A few months, I guess. The sky is like it’s leaking.

I’m in a coastal city, so the flooding is even more severe here.

So what I want most is a boat, or an inflatable raft. I want to go to an inland city; the situation might be better there.” Eldest Sister said unhurriedly.

Rain for several months…

Yan Yu: A disaster scenario, truly terrifying!

“Then, Sister, why couldn’t you connect with anyone in the previous time slot?”

“Perhaps the environment around that person wasn’t safe enough? Or maybe they didn’t have anything they wanted to exchange?” The woman slowly voiced her guesses.

Yan Yu thought it was probably the former. Even if there was nothing to exchange, people would still want to click and see what the other side was like, driven by human curiosity.

“Besides a boat, I need warm clothing, medicine, and food is good too, but it needs to be hot,” the woman stated her needs, then explained, “Here, electricity and communication are all cut off. People are mainly gathered in taller buildings. At first, there was still some relief, but now it’s almost nonexistent. The rain never stops, fire-starting tools are getting scarcer, and many people’s bodies can’t cope; they’ve fallen ill…”
(End of Chapter)

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Hongjun (鸿钧):
A primordial Taoist sage, often seen as the embodiment of the Dao. Teacher of the Three Great Daoist Saints. Symbolizes creation, cosmic balance, and ultimate wisdom in Chinese mythology and xianxia stories.