"Keep trying to survive? What are we supposed to survive on? This island is completely barren—we can't even chew on tree bark! We can't last long on food from fishing alone!"
Someone had just stepped forward to boost everyone's morale in the Communication Channel, and the next second, someone else came along to pour cold water on them.
"Sigh, those people in the top ten on the rankings definitely don't have to worry about food or drink. After all, they get so much Common Bait every day."
"Exactly, exactly. We're all human. They should help those of us who don't have any resources!"
"Heh. Are they your parents or something? Why should they use the resources they worked so hard to fish up to help you?"
When Su Yu saw these messages in the Communication Channel, he raised an eyebrow slightly.
Some people had started directing the conversation toward those of them near the top of the rankings. Su Yu wasn't surprised in the least.
After all, there were five thousand people in a small region. The crowd was a mixed bag: from high-ranking officials and nobles before the transmigration, to ordinary commoners, street toughs, lawbreakers behind bars, and even vicious criminals, as well as students who'd managed to hold on to their innocence and romanticism.
With so many types of people mixed together in one region, it was only natural that problems like this would crop up in the Communication Channel.
Su Yu also figured that, by now, some naive people had probably been tricked out of their supplies and were still helping the scammers count their loot!
Sure enough, just as the thought crossed Su Yu's mind, he casually glanced at the Communication Channel and saw that it had already happened.
"Everyone, watch out. A woman called Wang Tiantian tricked me out of a bag of food."
"Bro above, can you explain how you got scammed? Were you trying to chat in private and got swindled?"
"You can still get scammed at a time like this? Bro, you're something else!"
After skimming through the messages, Su Yu immediately typed one out and sent it.
"Buying Island Area Fragments. Owners can message me privately. I can trade food, fresh water, or other items."
After sending it, Su Yu pinned the message to the top.
"Holy crap, what's the number-one big shot buying now?"
"Are you stupid? Can't you tell from the words? Island Area Fragments. Obviously, they're used to increase the size of an island!"
"Holy crap, I thought I was going to starve to death. There's still hope, everyone! The one Common Bait I got as my guaranteed catch today pulled up a Two-Star Wooden Treasure Chest. I opened it and got a +1-square-meter Island Fragment. I'm going to trade with the number-one big shot."
"Envy, jealousy, and hatred."
Not long after Su Yu pinned the purchasing message, people immediately started messaging him privately.
In fact, Island Fragments were what came in the Ranking Treasure Chests obtained by those ranked second through tenth on the Regional Island Prosperity Ranking. The only difference was how much island area each fragment added.
Su Yu, in first place, had opened a +5 Island Fragment; the second-place person had a +3 Island Fragment; and the third-place person had a +2 Island Fragment.
As for those in fourth through tenth place, they'd all gotten +1 Island Fragments.
But people who'd made it into the top ten naturally wouldn't trade their fragments for basic supplies like the other survivors.
Though they didn't have as wide a variety of supplies as Su Yu, they still had enough to cover their basic needs.
[ Ding, Survivor Wu Zhe has met your requirements for private messages and is requesting a private chat with you. Accept? ]
"Accept." At the private chat notification, Su Yu silently agreed.
"Is the number-one big shot there? I wanted to ask how much food and water I could get for one +1 Island Area Fragment."
Wu Zhe was standing on his island. His face was a little pale and his lips were cracked—signs that his body was starting to suffer from dehydration.
As it turned out, Wu Zhe had either been cursed by the god of bad luck or something. He hadn't managed to fish up any fresh water with the ten portions of Common Bait given to beginners, and eight of the ten Treasure Chests he'd caught were Damaged Treasure Chests. They'd been full of junk like worn-out socks and dead branches.
The other two Treasure Chests were ☆Common Wooden Treasure Chests, and Wu Zhe had gotten a total of ten pieces of wood from them. When he saw what he'd gotten from his ten portions of bait, he'd nearly dropped dead on the spot.
Fortunately, the Novice Survival Treasure Chest he'd been given contained a loaf of whole-wheat bread and a 500-milliliter bottle of mineral water. Otherwise, Wu Zhe thought he might as well have jumped into the sea and died.
That's right. This unlucky guy was the one who'd said in the Communication Channel that morning that he'd relied on his righteous aura to make it through the night.
Meanwhile, after seeing the other person's message in the private chat window, Su Yu fell into thought.
It wasn't that he was worried about not having anything to offer. He was just considering how much he should trade.
He couldn't offer too little, but he couldn't offer too much, either. Otherwise, it would be difficult for Su Yu to buy these things from the lucky survivors later on.
Su Yu had expected people to trade with him. For some lucky people who'd fished up fragments but couldn't even maintain their basic living needs, trading them for supplies was a better deal.
After all, adding one square meter of island area was practically useless to them at this early stage.
After thinking it over, Su Yu made Wu Zhe an offer.
"I'll trade one +1-square-meter Island Fragment for 15 liters of fresh water, 10 kilograms of rice, and a Windproof Lighter."
Wu Zhe, who'd been staring intently at the private chat window, saw the message Su Yu sent him.
To be honest, he was hesitant. He couldn't tell whether the price the other person had offered was low or not.
But then he thought of how, if he didn't sell this thing to a big shot in exchange for supplies, he probably wouldn't make it through the night. In an instant, Wu Zhe made up his mind.
"Damn it, I'll trade. If I try to sell it to someone else, they might lowball me even more. At a time like this, the only people who can offer a lot of supplies are probably the big shots in the top ten."
Truthfully, Wu Zhe still wanted to shop around. But everyone only had ten chances to send messages a day, and he'd already used several while chatting in the Communication Channel. He probably couldn't message the other big shots even if he wanted to.
Besides, he still had to reply to Su Yu in a moment!
Before you continue