Chapter Three: Water Crisis! First Upgrade!

"Indeed, it can be done this way."

When Su Mo saw the second option provided by the system, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Ignoring the system's sarcasm, Su Mo's face was filled with excitement.

While wells may be rare in cities, many rural areas still used primitive wells as late as 2022. Ordinary wells need to follow the terrain and topography before being dug, ideally choosing low-lying areas where water can gather using modern tools.

However, now that he had the survival system, as long as he could create a model of the item, survival points could replace subsequent work.

He was saved!

Su Mo began to carefully study the upgrade options for the well. If he upgraded from scratch, it would cost 130 survival points, and with the current efficiency of 5 survival points per day, it would take at least five days to accumulate enough points. By then, he might have already died of thirst.

Waiting for the survival points to reach the required amount was definitely a foolish method!

Su Mo smiled and thought of a solution: "I can provide materials for the upgrade plan…"

Using his thoughts to touch the second upgrade option, Su Mo quickly found the two items he could currently provide for the upgrade: 10 units of stone and 6 units of plant fibers.

Picking up the stone axe, Su Mo felt a surge of motivation in his heart. He stepped out of the shelter door in just three quick strides, starting to gather supplies.

He collected leaves from trees and picked up stones.

After more than half an hour, he finally gathered enough resources and returned to the shelter. This time, the required survival points had finally dropped to 75.

Select Option 2!

The green scanning light spread out from beneath Su Mo's feet, gradually merging with the pit, and in his vision, the pit became deeper, while the wooden bucket began to sink down with the terrain.

Several units of plant fibers used to create the hemp rope began to extend as the wooden bucket descended.

The stones piled on the ground quickly disappeared.

As all the materials were consumed, with a loud pop, the green light suddenly returned to Su Mo's body.

Looking at the well, new attributes emerged:[Micro Well Water Extractor (Normal)]Current Efficiency: 2000ml/dayUpgrade Option 1: Upgrade the well's material, add sealing and purification functions to improve water quality; upgrade cost: 200 survival points.Upgrade Option 2: Deepen the well pit to enhance water extraction efficiency; upgrade cost: 300 survival points.Evaluation: A must-have for wilderness survival!

Looking at the water well panel that showed a daily output of two liters, Su Mo's expression was filled with joy as he began to calculate in his heart.

If he did not engage in physical activity, he only needed to maintain about 300ml of water daily to survive. Even if he had to go out to work, a maximum of one liter of water would be sufficient.

As for the scientific theory that each person needs at least 2L of water daily, that was far too extravagant in the apocalypse.

Even in civilized times, many people couldn't manage to drink 2L daily, let alone maintain health in the apocalypse.

The water crisis was resolved!

Next, he needed to solve the food problem.

After thinking for a moment, Su Mo opened the trading panel, and sure enough, many items appeared on the previously empty panel.[Seller: Luo Feng][Trading Item: 1 Iron Block][Required Item: 100ml Pure Water][Remark: Don't private message me saying I'm asking for too much; I dug this thing out under the scorching sun for over an hour!]…[Seller: Su Yu][Trading Item: 200g Bread][Required Item: 1 Copper Block][Remark: If you don't want to starve, hurry up and bring out the copper block; time waits for no one!]…[Seller: Han Li][Trading Item: 500g Mutated Desert Wolf Meat][Required Item: 300ml Pure Water][Remark: Bring pure water in exchange for fresh wolf meat, just out of the oven; those who need it hurry up!]…[Seller: Wang Fugui][Trading Item: 100ml Thirst-Quenching Liquid][Required Item: Anything, private message me!][Comment: I can go to hell; it's called liquid, but it's actually urine. Why don't you drink it to quench your thirst?][Comment: You cheated me out of 10 wood; if you have the guts, don't let me catch you!]…Urine?

Looking at the thirst-quenching liquid above, Su Mo couldn't help but laugh and cry.

It turned out that the trading system had such a loophole; no wonder this person didn't clarify what the liquid actually was.

Just having crossed over to this place, even if he was dying of thirst, no one would want to drink urine! After a few minutes of overall observation, Su Mo had a general understanding of the market situation.

Among the people who had come over at this stage, there were no shortage of strong individuals. Some had already killed many mutated creatures with the tools they had on hand.

Others had found food and tools from treasure chests discovered in the desert.

However, water was still the most scarce resource at this time.

Hardly anyone had water available for trade, and even if there was a little, it would be bought within seconds.

After exiting the trading panel, Su Mo entered the regional chat again, and this time, there were quite a few useful discussions:"As long as you kill mutated beasts, they will drop treasure chests. I just killed a mutated rabbit and got a treasure chest with a bottle of Wahaha and a wrench inside!""You can also find treasure chests in the wild; just be careful not to mistake them for trash and miss them!""Which kind-hearted person can spare some food? I haven't eaten all day and am about to starve to death!"

In the small group, aside from those who lay around and didn't want to move, most were discussing how to find supplies.

At this stage, few people would focus on developing their shelters; they were primarily stocking up enough supplies before the next disaster struck.

Su Mo observed for a moment and gained some intelligence.

Just as previously introduced, the wilderness was filled with both danger and opportunity.

Each time a mutated beast was killed, a treasure chest reward could be obtained, and what would come out depended on luck and the strength of the mutated beast.

There were also many wild treasure chests scattered across the wilderness, which could be opened upon discovery.

In short, as long as you were willing to explore in the novice stage, you would at least not starve or die of thirst immediately, having a glimmer of survival opportunity.

As for those who lived in comfort, those who only knew how to issue orders, and those who had lost their survival instincts, they would likely be the first to be eliminated in this global survival competition involving billions of people.

Sitting on the steps of the shelter, as the sun hung low in the sky, Su Mo took advantage of the last rays of light to grab the water bucket.

After about five hours, the bucket had accumulated 400ml of water.

He spent another 4 units of wood to craft another water bucket, poured the water from the well bucket into it to settle the impurities, and then placed the well bucket back in to continue collecting.

Enduring his thirst, Su Mo opened the trading panel and put 200ml of water up for auction.[Seller: Su Mo][Trading Item: 200ml Underground Mineral Water][Required Item: Any food][Remark: Freshly dug underground water! It took me half a day to dig out this much; I only want food! Highest bidder wins!]

As soon as Su Mo put the water up for trade, the chat channel exploded."Damn, someone is trading water, and it's freshly dug!""There's water underground? Don't say anything; I'm going to dig for water right now!""I've never seen water dug up before; most of the water traded today was from treasure chests. This person is actually willing to trade!""As long as it's food, I have 300g of bread to exchange for this water!"

The world channel was buzzing with excitement.

On the other side, a bunch of people were privately messaging Su Mo through the trading channel."Brother Su, can I exchange 20 units of wood for your water? Please, I'm about to die of thirst!""I have assets worth billions; if you give me this water, I'll give you ten billion in return. You'll be rich for life!""Su Mo, dear brother, I'm so thirsty! Can you give me some water? If we meet, I can agree to any request you have~""Brother, would you trade 300g of wolf meat + 200g of bread for it? I want water.""…"

Amidst the thousands of private messages that flooded in, there were also some foreigners' avatars, but the messages sent were translated into Chinese by the trading system.

Among these people were quite a few familiar celebrities, wealthy individuals, and officials from his past life.

Some offered hefty promises, some resorted to threats, and many even directly tried to entice him with their looks.

Su Mo ignored them all.

The first round of disaster would arrive in five days; in these uncertain times, everyone was equal.

Who knew how many of these people would survive after the disaster struck?

After sifting through the messages for about ten minutes, Su Mo finally chose the one that seemed to offer the highest bid and completed the transaction.[Record]: You have lost 200ml of water.[Record]: You have gained 350g of bread, 200g of beef jerky, 1 iron, 1 lighter.

As the transaction was completed, half of the water in the bucket vanished, replaced by several new items in his inventory.

Now, including what he had spent before, there were only 4 units of wood left in his inventory.

Su Mo calculated that he would spend 4 wood to craft a wooden box, placing all the items he had just traded into it.

After carefully drinking the remaining half of the water from the bucket, while the sky had not completely darkened yet, Su Mo walked out once more.