"The Wall"
Ye Xu sat at ease atop a massive black metal box, smiling as he kept tossing the materials beside him into the opening on top.
[You deposited an important body part of a level 3 monster [Piercer (Elite)] -- you received 300 SC]
[You deposited an important body part of a level 3 monster [Piercer (Elite)] -- you received 300 SC]
[You deposited...]
While cleaning up the battlefield after the Monster Tide ended, he had casually used Gathering to pick up a monster's pointy bit. He thought it looked rather nice and planned to take it home as a decoration.
As a result, when his Talent activated today, 1,000 pointy bits appeared in his house.
Ye Xu was furious and swore never to bring random things home again.
Not until the system announcement came and a massive black box appeared in the house did his initial shock and annoyance rapidly give way to ecstasy, especially after the announcement revealed the purpose of the [Recycling Box].
"This is great!"
After exchanging all the pointy bits and the rare items he had no use for into Survival Coins, then dragging all the corpses outside into the house and tossing them into the black box, Ye Xu looked at the number on his panel, planted his hands on his hips, and threw back his head in laughter.
"Hahaha, nearly 400,000 Survival Coins! Who can stop me? Who dares stop me?"
Ye Xu opened the marketplace and bought a few luxury items, gradually calming down.
"No, I need to use my Talent and the huge amount of Survival Coins I have to make money on top of money! I can guarantee no organization in the entire zone has more Survival Coins than I do! Even that Mutual Aid Association can't come up with this much money in a short time!"
After thinking for a long time, Ye Xu could only come up with ways to make money like hoarding, monopolizing the market, and anonymously acting as a shill. He couldn't think of how to put any of them into practice.
"I still need someone else's help..."
Ye Xu's finger slid down his Personal Channel list, ignoring countless junk messages begging for handouts or proposing cooperation, until it finally stopped on an inconspicuous chat window.
[Mei Chuanyi: Mr. Ye Xu, please be sure to consider cooperating with us. Market monopolization, stockpiling supplies, short-selling mechanisms, panic selling, fraud by borrowing others' names... These are all professional fields we specialize in.]
Ye Xu fell silent, his thoughts churning.
He knew these people. They had formed a small organization of their own.
The vast majority of people in Zone 76 were from Hua, but there were also some from other countries.
And this was a small organization made up of foreigners.
They usually kept a low profile, occasionally asking for help in the channel and playing pitiful.
Should he work with them?
Ye Xu gritted his teeth!
[Ye Xu: Isn't it a real-name system? How do you commit fraud?]
[Mei Chuanyi: That's where a professional team comes in. Shaping public opinion and exploiting others' influence are both things we're good at.]
[Ye Xu: Your team... how many people do you have now? Tell me the details of your plan.]
Han Song carefully dragged the corpse of a level 1 monster he had just killed into the enormous black box.
[You deposited the corpse of a level 1 monster [Bloodthirsty Wolf Beast] -- you received 15 SC]
After depositing the last corpse and listening to the pleasant sound, Han Song smiled with both satisfaction and regret.
"A level 1 monster is only worth 15 Survival Coins. The things in the system store cost hundreds or even tens of thousands. Who can afford them?"
Standing there, Han Song thought for a moment about the three people he had seen in the livestream and murmured, "Oh, maybe they can afford them... But Su Luo doesn't even have a Sanctuary. Are Survival Coins any use to him?"
He opened the marketplace and looked at the listings. Most were no longer bartering goods, instead choosing Survival Coins as currency. The problem was that prices were all over the place: the price of the same item could differ by a factor of four!
He closed the market and opened the forum, which was divided into two sections.
One was for public posts, and the other was for paid posts.
He opened the paid posts, scrolled a few times, and came across one.
[How to deal with common level 2 monsters (Paid) (5 Survival Coins)]
The post had a huge number of views. Han Song thought it over, paid the Survival Coins, and opened it to learn.
After leaving the post, Han Song was left wanting more. Ever since the paid feature had been introduced, quite a few survivors had stopped keeping their knowledge to themselves and started selling it directly, making small profits through high sales.
He opened the team-up thread set up specifically by the Mutual Aid Association and began browsing the replies recruiting teammates.
[Squad recruiting: Need a sturdy frontliner with at least 8 Constitution, preferably with defensive skills, to explore an area over a kilometer from the Sanctuary suspected to contain level 3 monsters. The captain will provide reliable lighting.]
[Temporary team: A level 2 elite monster has been spotted near the Sanctuary. Recruiting damage dealers and support. We'll make it quick.]
[Free help for newcomers: Leading a team to farm groups of level 1 monsters, helping companions who have just reached level 2 consolidate their strength. No requirements. Come quickly if interested.]
Han Song's eyes lit up when he saw this, and he hurriedly contacted the original poster.
[Han Song: (Image sent)]
[Han Song: Big shot, can I join?]
[Captain: Sure, welcome! But you'll need to bring your own teleport ticket.]
Han Song checked the system store.
[Shelter Teleport Ticket (Permanent)]
[Value: 100 SC]
[After use, teleports you from your own Sanctuary to a designated survivor's Sanctuary (requires the other party's consent)]
This wasn't a good item. After using it, he wouldn't be able to return to his own Sanctuary.
[Shelter Teleport Ticket (Temporary)]
[Value: 200 SC]
[After use, teleports you from your own Sanctuary to a designated survivor's Sanctuary (requires the other party's consent) (duration of stay: 24 hours)]
"After a day of farming monsters, I'll definitely earn far more than 200 SC, and it'll be safer too!" Han Song quickly weighed the costs and benefits and bought the teleport ticket.
[Qin Lang: Mr. Su, that's the situation. We very much hope you can continue publishing beginner's guides to more class skills. Although we can't trade with you directly, we've obtained a way to enter the instance. When the time comes, we'll ask Comrade Song Shige to bring you a batch of supplies as thanks.]
[Su Luo: I'll keep updating the guides as usual. There's no need for that.]
[Su Luo: Also, is there any more detailed information about the giant monster mentioned last time?]
[Qin Lang: (Wry smile emoji) Actually, we still don't have much to go on. All we know is that some players have this kind of monster three kilometers from their Sanctuaries.]
[Qin Lang: These players make up a very small proportion, and most of them are already dead. Based on the Analysis Department's assessment, they believe these are the "wall" at the zone's boundary.]
[Su Luo: A wall? So the players who found these monsters are all on the boundary of Zone 76?]
[Qin Lang: That's our guess. Perhaps to leave Zone 76, we'll first need to defeat these monsters.]
[Su Luo: Is there any information on the monsters?]
[Qin Lang: No, but judging from the footage we still have, the most normal-looking of them is a ten-meter-tall Giant. The Analysis Department analyzed the small crater it left when it casually slapped the ground. It has at least 400 tons of force.]
[Su Luo: Okay]
Su Luo was somewhat surprised. 400 tons!
What did that mean? It could slightly rock a ten-thousand-ton ship, casually demolish buildings, tear small and medium-sized frigates apart with its bare hands, and nothing short of missiles or nuclear bombs could match it... That was already the level of a walking natural disaster, far beyond what survivors at their current stage could confront head-on.
There was no need to dwell on it now. Su Luo opened the forum and began editing posts.
[Beginner's guide to "Ice Arrow"]
[Beginner's guide to "Raise Shield"]
[Beginner's guide to "Gale Step"]
[...]