Closing the Loophole with an Offer Too Good to Refuse

"The sewer!"

Yu Yuan hurried into the bathroom and shone his flashlight down the floor drain. When he saw the dark pipe dropping straight down, he finally realized what he had overlooked.

He had taken every precaution against flooding from outside the hideout, only to forget the sewer opening inside his own bathroom!

Once the downpour filled the city sewers, rainwater would likely back up through that drain and flood his hideout.

Cold sweat soaked Yu Yuan's back. The thought terrified him, but he was also immensely relieved.

Thank goodness he had noticed it in time. Once the typhoon arrived and the rain came pouring down, it would be too late.

Then his expression darkened.

Because he realized that it might already be too late.

He had sealed off the Air-Raid Shelter Level's exit to the sewer. He could no longer go out to 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 hadn't liked smoking. He had even found it off-putting.

But he had to admit that when his thoughts were in turmoil, it was the quickest way to clear his head and steady his nerves.

"Phew... All right. It's not the worst-case scenario yet."

Yu Yuan could think of two ways to solve the problem.

The first was brutally simple: pour Quick-Drying Cement into the bathroom drainpipe and seal it completely. But the consequences could be serious. Yu Yuan had no idea what would happen to the [Bathroom] facility if he blocked its drain.

It probably wouldn't be scrapped outright, but he might have to rebuild it or remove the cement. Either way, Yu Yuan put that option last.

The typhoon was due at 3:48 a.m. If he still hadn't solved the bathroom's backflow problem by then, he would have no choice.

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

One of the Optimization Paths he had unlocked at the East City Water Affairs Center was for the bathroom.

Once the bathroom reached level 2, he could optimize the facility, just as he had with the Stainless-Steel Floodproof Door.

[Bathroom Level 2 — Washroom] required the following materials: ceramic washbasin ×1, corrugated flexible hose ×2, latex paint ×1, stainless-steel pipe ×2, faucet ×1.

The optimized level 2 bathroom would become an excellent-quality [Shower Room].

Once he had built the [Bathroom Level 2 — Washroom], all he needed to complete the optimization was a showerhead ×1, PVC pipe ×1, check valve ×2, anti-overflow floor drain ×2, and waterproof coating ×1.

Yu Yuan had found plenty of household materials at the mole-marked woman's home at 68 Kanchino Street. He had considered upgrading the bathroom then, so he already had the latex paint, stainless-steel pipes, PVC pipe, waterproof coating, and faucet.

He could only get the remaining materials by trading on Taotao Cave.

After searching through the listings, he found two corrugated flexible hoses and a showerhead. But no one had listed a ceramic washbasin, check valves, or anti-overflow floor drains.

He would have to post a purchase request.

This time, he didn't offer cigarettes as he had before. In the three days since entering the Wasteland World, he had put nearly forty packs into circulation. Players still wanted cigarettes, but they were no longer quite so desperate for them.

When he had listed over twenty packs to upgrade Taotao Cave and other facilities, many buyers had immediately split up the packs and relisted the cigarettes to pocket the difference.

Besides, he had only two cartons left. He needed to keep some for himself.

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

He put up four Damascus daggers, two 6Kh5 Bayonets, a tactical axe, and military boots that didn't fit him. In return, he asked not only for the materials needed to upgrade the bathroom,

but also for materials to build other hideout facilities: a bicycle, Electrical Wire, and a rectifier for a level 1 Generator, plus copper wire and switches for level 2 Lighting.

He intended to build all those facilities within the next three days.

A level 1 [Generator] also required an alternator and a Storage Battery, while the [Lighting] upgrade needed an energy-saving bulb. Yu Yuan already had those; he just needed to gather the missing materials.

Other players soon saw Yu Yuan's listings. Although listings remained anonymous after Taotao Cave reached Access Level 3, newly listed goods were still refreshed at the top.

The supplies Yu Yuan had taken from the thugs had caused a stir when he first listed them. Chest rigs, body armor, shotguns, rifles, grenades, and military boots were all unmistakably thug gear. They were impossible to overlook.

So when Yu Yuan's purchase requests appeared, interested players noticed at once.

At first, they assumed he was using the listings to transfer supplies, as players commonly did.

But some soon realized something was different. The newly listed items were all melee weapons, yet he was asking for remarkably little in return.

A melee weapon normally sold for 3,000 to 8,000 Survival Points, depending on its type.

Daggers, which were useful mainly for stabbing, generally cost around 3,000 Survival Points.

A versatile weapon like a tactical axe, useful for both fighting and chopping, sold for more than 6,000 Survival Points.

Now those weapons could be traded for a handful of supplies. Anyone who saw the listings and recognized their value immediately sprang into action.

Cities and towns were dangerous, but players could also find resource sites out in the wilderness.

Broken-down cars, abandoned campsites, highway service stations, country villas, farm estates, empty houses, and the like.

Such places were rare, but generally posed little danger.

Some players were already exploring near those buildings and changed course at once.

Others had been about to rest, but remembered supplies they had collected that met the trade requirements. They got up and started searching through their things.

One player even rushed out of his hideout and began stripping a broken-down RV by the roadside.

They all had one thought: get their hands on a weapon first.

Even if they couldn't use it themselves, they could resell it for a profit of hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of Survival Points. No one would turn down a deal like that.

That was exactly what Yu Yuan wanted. He was short on time. To get the bathroom upgrade materials quickly, he needed to make it worth other people's effort.

Supplies were limited. First come, first served.

It was that simple.

Once Yu Yuan saw in the chat channel that players had heard about the weapon trades and were discussing them eagerly, he stopped paying attention.

As long as people were talking, someone would gather the materials for the Survival Points. All he had to do was wait.

Yu Yuan suppressed his impatience and looked eagerly at the pile of spoils in the corner.

"While I wait, I might as well sort through what I got this time!"

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