Patching the Loophole with Tempting Profits

"Sewer!"

Yu Yuan hurried to the Bathroom and shone his flashlight into the floor drain. When he saw the pitch-black vertical pipe, he finally realized what he had overlooked.

He had guarded against every possible threat, focusing all his attention on how to withstand the potential flooding outside the Hideout. Yet he had overlooked the sewer outlet in the Hideout's Bathroom!

Once the torrential rain filled the city sewers, the water would likely backflow through that drain and into the Hideout.

Cold sweat soaked Yu Yuan's back. Even as fear lingered in his heart, he felt immensely fortunate.

Luckily, he had discovered it in time. Otherwise, it would have been too late once the typhoon arrived and the rain began pouring down.

But then his expression turned exceptionally grim.

Because he realized that... it seemed he was already too late.

He had already blocked the Air-Raid Shelter Level's exit to the sewers, leaving him unable to go outside and gather construction supplies.

After replacing a candle in the Hideout, Yu Yuan lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

Before entering the wasteland, he had not liked smoking. He had even found it somewhat repulsive.

But he had to admit that when a person's thoughts were tangled, it was the best way to quickly sort them out and steady their emotions.

"Phew... Fortunately, things haven't reached the worst point yet."

Yu Yuan temporarily thought of two solutions.

The simplest and most brutal one was to fill the Bathroom's drainpipe with quick-drying cement, physically sealing it completely. But the consequences would be serious. Yu Yuan had no idea what changes would occur to the [Bathroom] facility after its drainpipe was blocked.

It probably would not be directly scrapped. The most likely outcome was that it would need to be rebuilt, or the cement would need to be removed. Either way, Yu Yuan placed this option last.

The typhoon would arrive at 3:48 a.m. If he had not solved the Bathroom backflow issue by then, he would have no choice but to take that route.

The second option was naturally to upgrade the [Bathroom] facility.

Among the optimization routes he had unlocked earlier at the East City Water Affairs Center was one for the Bathroom.

Once the Bathroom reached level 2, it could undergo facility optimization, just like the Stainless-Steel Floodproof Door.

[Bathroom Level 2—Washroom] required construction materials: Ceramic Washbasin ×1, Corrugated Hose ×2, Latex Paint ×1, Stainless Steel Pipe ×2, Faucet ×1.

The optimized level 2 Bathroom facility would become the excellent-quality [Shower Room].

After constructing the [Bathroom Level 2—Washroom], he only needed to add Showerhead ×1, PVC Pipe ×1, Check Valve ×2, Overflow-Proof Floor Drain ×2, and Waterproof Coating ×1 to complete the optimization.

Earlier, Yu Yuan had obtained quite a few household materials from the home of the woman with the tear mole at 68 Kanchino Street. He had considered upgrading the Bathroom at the time, so he already had latex paint, stainless steel pipes, PVC pipes, waterproof coating, and a faucet.

He could only trade for the remaining materials through Taotao Cave.

After searching around, he was fairly lucky to find two corrugated hoses and a showerhead. However, no one had listed ceramic washbasins, check valves, or overflow-proof floor drains.

He could only post purchase requests.

He did not use cigarettes for trading as he had before. After three days in the Wasteland World, he had gradually put out more than forty packs. While players still had a high demand for cigarettes, they no longer craved them as desperately as before.

Previously, in order to upgrade Taotao Cave and the like, he had listed over twenty packs. After completing their transactions, many people had broken those cigarettes into smaller listings to resell at a profit.

When encountering advertisements such as "Are you a real person?", there was no need to pay attention. Just close them. Do not scan codes or send text messages!

Besides, he only had two cigarettes left now, and he needed to keep some for himself.

This time, he listed the supplies he had obtained from the thugs, starting with the melee weapons.

He listed four Damascus daggers, two 6Kh5 Bayonets, a tactical axe, and military boots that did not fit him, in exchange for the supplies needed to upgrade the Bathroom.

He also included construction materials for other Hideout facilities, such as bicycles, electrical wires, and rectifiers for building a level 1 Generator, as well as copper wires and switches for upgrading Lighting to level 2.

These were all facilities Yu Yuan planned to complete within the next three days.

Building a level 1 Generator also required an alternator and a battery, while upgrading Lighting required energy-saving light bulbs. Yu Yuan had all of those, so he only needed to gather the missing supplies before construction could begin.

The items Yu Yuan listed were quickly noticed by other players. Once Taotao Cave was upgraded to level 3 access permission or above, listings remained anonymous, but every newly listed item would be refreshed and pinned to the top.

When Yu Yuan had previously listed the supplies looted from the thugs on Taotao Cave, it had already caused quite a stir. Tactical vests, body armor, shotguns, rifles, grenades, and military boots were obviously equipment unique to thugs, making them impossible to ignore.

Therefore, as soon as Yu Yuan posted his purchase requests, observant people immediately noticed them.

They thought it was the same as before, that he was transferring supplies through listings. After all, this was already a common practice among players.

But someone soon realized something was wrong. Although the newly listed items were all melee weapons, the trade requirements were ridiculously low.

Previously, a melee weapon sold for anywhere from 3,000 to 8,000 Survival Points, depending on its type.

Weapons like daggers, which only had piercing capability, generally sold for around 3,000 Survival Points.

But multipurpose weapons like tactical axes, which could be used both in combat and for chopping, sold for over 6,000 Survival Points.

Yet now, these weapons could actually be exchanged for just a few materials. Seeing this, observant people immediately sprang into action.

Cities and towns were highly dangerous areas, but there were always resource points in remote wilderness locations that players could discover.

Abandoned cars by the roadside, deserted campsites, highway service stations, country villas, farm estates, abandoned houses, and so on.

Though scarce, these places generally posed little danger.

Some people were already exploring near such buildings and immediately changed direction.

Others had been preparing to rest, but upon seeing the purchase requests, remembered that they had collected items meeting the exchange requirements and immediately got up to look for them.

Some even rushed out of their Hideouts and began dismantling the broken-down RV parked by the roadside.

They had only one thought: secure the weapons first.

Even if they had no use for the weapons themselves, reselling them would earn anywhere from several hundred to over a thousand Survival Points in profit. No one would turn down such a good deal.

And that was precisely Yu Yuan's intention. Time was tight, and if he wanted to obtain the materials to upgrade the Bathroom as quickly as possible, he could only use profit to make others work desperately.

Limited quantities. First come, first served.

It was that simple.

After seeing through the chat channel that all the players had learned about the weapon trades and were discussing them heatedly, Yu Yuan stopped paying attention.

As long as there was discussion, someone would gather supplies for Survival Points. All he needed to do was wait.

Yu Yuan suppressed the urgency in his heart and looked eagerly at the pile of spoils stacked in the corner.

"While I have this time, I'll sort through this haul!"

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