Trading Opens

As dawn broke, the cave was still dark.

The temperature was low at night, and the stone wall felt cool to the touch, with a thin layer of dampness clinging to it. Lu Heng lay there wrapped in a thin blanket, sleeping soundly. The fatigue from building the wall, tending the planting area, and exploring the mountains over the past few days had piled up, and he was finally getting a good night's sleep.

There was no wind, no animal roars, and complete silence all around.

In this half-awake state, the Wristband's notification sound suddenly entered my ears.

The sound wasn't loud, neither jarring nor alarming; it was a gentle, quiet ringing against the eardrums. But its penetrating power was extremely strong, and no matter how drowsy a person was, they couldn't avoid it.

Lu Heng's eyelids were heavy, his mind was a mess, and he was still drowsy, too lazy to move.

Every word the system broadcasts is clearly audible.

[The Global Trading Channel is now open for three days, allowing survivors across all regions to trade freely.]

He paused for two seconds, then slowly pushed himself up from the ground and sat up.

With my back against the cold stone wall, my consciousness slowly returned. The sleepiness had mostly dissipated, leaving only a genuine sense of surprise in my heart.

This announcement came very suddenly.

Previously, all trade was limited to small local areas, allowing only nearby survivors to exchange supplies. This time, the Global Region has been opened up, effectively connecting all areas with different terrains, natural disasters, and resources.

Lu Heng raised his hand and rubbed his temples, subconsciously starting to compare the living conditions in different places.

The mountain forest where he lived was neither rich nor poor.

It lacks the extreme heat and dryness of deserts, the poisonous insects and miasma of rainforests, the treacherous landslides of high mountains, and the raging winds and waves of Island Region. Resources are adequate, allowing for farming, logging, mining, and hunting, with manageable dangers and the best stability of all regions.

In comparison, his place actually became the most suitable location for cross-border trade.

Once his thoughts settled, Lu Heng turned on the Wristband screen.

The fingertip just touched the Regional Channel icon, then instantly withdrew it.

He didn't want to open it.

He went in briefly a few days ago, but there wasn't a single useful piece of information inside.

It was all the same group of people chatting casually, gossiping about everyday things, endlessly repeating the same nonsense. Even though everyone was gathered together and could talk face-to-face, they insisted on dominating the public channel and flooding it with irrelevant chatter. The entire channel was filled with no intelligence, no transactions, no requests for help, just a bunch of unimportant drivel.

It's annoying to look at.

After that, he never opened the local channel again.

Instead of wasting time scrolling through junk information, just check out the World Channel.

Lu Heng switched interfaces and opened the World Channel.

He frowned as soon as he went in.

The World Channel refreshes too fast, with dozens of messages scrolling by every second, a mix of various regions, needs, and requests for help. If you blink or lose focus for even two seconds, the relevant content you just saw is immediately overwritten, making it impossible to grasp the information.

Fortunately, this Global Region update adds section filtering to the interface.

You can independently access the other four survival areas, lurking to observe other people's transactions and requests for help, without being overwhelmed by massive amounts of spam messages.

Lu Heng breathed a sigh of relief, calmed down, and began to browse through the updates from each district.

The first area we visited was the Desert Region.

The survivors throughout the entire desert area were in a very similar state.

They don't lack basic drinking water. The system provides a fixed amount, just enough for a person to drink each day, so they won't die of thirst.

However, water for domestic use and water for farming are two different things.

Bathing, cleaning, large-scale land reclamation and planting, and continuous irrigation are not enough.

Deserts are rich in various minerals, with huge reserves of iron ore, copper ore, and various hard minerals that can be found everywhere. However, the soil in the entire area is barren, lacking fertile soil for cultivation and suitable crop seeds, making it impossible to develop an agricultural system.

They can survive, but they can't live a stable life in the long term; resources are extremely skewed.

Next is the Rainforest Region.

Rainforests are the exact opposite of deserts.

With abundant flora and fauna, wild fruits, vegetables, and small prey are plentiful, ensuring a constant supply of food.

But the danger is immense.

The land is teeming with poisonous insects and ants, shrouded in miasma and fog; the ground is damp and putrid, teeming with snakes and lurking beasts. The most essential supplies for everyone are insect repellent, and protective gear against poison and moisture.

Moreover, rainforests are low-lying areas with abundant rainfall, inevitably leading to flash floods during the rainy season.

The floodwaters swept across the entire forest, rendering all the lower-level nests and ground Shelter useless and completely submerged. Many survivors were unable to evacuate in time and perished in the floodwaters.

Forced by circumstances, the people of the rainforest mostly build their Shelter in the branches of towering trees, dozens of meters off the ground, barely avoiding floods and strange beasts on the ground.

They had enough to eat, but struggled to find clothes, and lived a dangerous life.

Further down is the High Mountain Region.

High mountains are a typical example of high risk and high reward.

The entire mountainous area is characterized by continuous cliffs and crisscrossing ravines. Rare medicinal herbs grow in remote and inaccessible places. These herbs are highly effective and valuable, and can be easily exchanged for hard currency.

However, this is also the place with the most natural disasters and topographical hazards.

The area experiences consistently low temperatures and biting mountain winds, making it prone to rockfalls from the cliffs. Rainfall loosens the soil, increasing the risk of large-scale mudslides.

Many people painstakingly built Shelter halfway up the mountain, but a mudslide caused the entire hillside to collapse, destroying all their homes and supplies.

To gather herbs, one must venture into dangerous areas, where one may be injured by falling rocks or buried by mudslides at any time. The rewards are extremely high, but the mortality rate is also extremely high.

Finally, there's the Island Region.

There's no shortage of food on the Island Region.

Surrounded by marine resources, with an inexhaustible supply of fish, shrimp, and shellfish, there is absolutely no worry about food shortages.

The fatal problem is fresh water.

The Island Region has no mountain springs or groundwater reserves, relying entirely on the system's minute replenishment, which is far from sufficient.

Moreover, the unique natural disaster for Island Region is wind disaster.

Endless sea winds rage year-round, with frequent storms, giant waves, and typhoons. Shelter must be repeatedly reinforced to prevent them from being torn apart by strong winds and flooded by ocean waves at all times.

Each region has its own unique resources, as well as its own unique predicaments.

Lu Heng quietly watched the messages popping up on the screen—requests for help, exchanges, and buy/sell orders—and slowly figured out all the supply and demand imbalances in his mind.

Deserts have minerals but no land; rainforests have food but no safety; mountains have medicine but no life; Island Region have fresh food but no water.

Looking at our own region, there are no extreme weaknesses; the main issue is temperature.

At that moment, he knew exactly what was going on.

This three-day, Global Region trading event is a rare opportunity.

He can reliably produce what others desperately want; the high-level materials and special items he needs later are piling up in other areas.

Lu Heng exited the channel interface, his fingertips gently stroking the edge of the Wristband, his eyes calm.

Now, it's time to exchange what we have and what we lack.