First Upgrade!

"It really works."

Liam was relieved when he saw the second option provided by the system.

Ignoring the system's teasing, Liam's face was full of excitement.

Primitive wells were still being used in many rural areas until 2021.

An ordinary well required careful site selection, typically in low-lying areas where water could accumulate, and modern tools for digging.

But now, with the Survival System, as long as he could create a model of the item, Survival Points could replace the subsequent work.

There was hope!

Liam began to carefully study the well's upgrade plan.

Upgrading directly would cost 130 Survival Points, and at the current rate of 5 points per day, it would take at least 5 days to accumulate enough points.

By then, he would have died of thirst.

Waiting for enough Survival Points was definitely a foolish approach!

Liam smiled, thinking of a solution.

"I can provide materials for the upgrade plan..."

Mentally touching upgrade option two, Liam quickly identified two items he could currently provide from the required materials: 10 units of stone and 6 units of plant fiber.

Picking up the stone axe, Liam felt a surge of motivation.

He strode out of the shelter and began gathering materials.

He stripped leaves from trees and collected stones.

After a long half hour, he finally gathered enough resources, and the Survival Points required for the upgrade dropped to 75.

He chose option two!

A green scanning light emerged from beneath Liam's feet, gradually merging with the pit.

In his vision, the pit grew deeper and deeper, and the wooden bucket slid down as the terrain disappeared.

The hemp rope, crafted from several units of plant fiber, extended as the bucket descended.

The stones piled on the ground vanished rapidly.

As all the materials were consumed, with a snap, the green light abruptly returned to Liam's body.

Looking at the well, its new attributes appeared.

[Micro Well Water Extractor (Normal)]

Current Efficiency: 2000ml/day

Upgrade Direction 1: Upgrade the well material, increase sealing and water purification functions, improve water quality, upgrade cost: Survival Points (200)

Upgrade Direction 2: Deepen the well pit, increase water extraction efficiency, upgrade cost: Survival Points (300)

Comment: Wilderness survival essential!

Looking at the well's panel, which showed a daily output of 2 liters of water, Liam was overjoyed and began to calculate.

Without exercise, 300ml of water per day was enough to sustain life, and even with outdoor work, a maximum of 1 liter was sufficient.

As for the scientific theory of at least 2 liters of water per person per day, it was simply nonsense in the apocalypse.

Even in civilized times, plenty of people couldn't manage to drink 2 liters a day, so how could they maintain such a regimen in the apocalypse?

The drinking water crisis was resolved!

Next, he needed to address the food issue.

After some thought, Liam opened the trading panel, and as expected, many items had appeared on the previously empty panel.

[Seller: Rocky]

[Trading Item: 1 Iron Ingot]

[Required Item: 100ml Purified Water]

[Comment: Don't DM me saying I'm ripping people off, I spent over an hour under the scorching sun digging this out]

[Seller: Bosh]

[Trading Item: 200g Bread]

[Required Item: 1 Copper Ingot]

[Comment: If you don't want to starve to death, bring out the copper ingots, don't miss out]

[Seller: Mebrum]

[Trading Item: 500g Mutated Desert Coyote Meat]

[Required Item: 300ml Purified Water]

[Comment: Trade for purified water, fresh coyote meat, just out of the oven, come and get it]

[Seller: Jack]

[Trading Item: 100ml Thirst-Quenching Liquid]

[Required Item: DM me with any item]

[Comment: What the hell, you said it was liquid, but it's urine, why don't you drink it to quench your thirst?]

[Comment: You scammed me out of 10 wood, don't let me catch you]

Urine?

Looking at the "thirst-quenching liquid" above, Liam couldn't help but laugh.

So there were such loopholes in the trading system, no wonder this person didn't clearly label what the liquid was.

Having just arrived in this world, even if they were dying of thirst, no one would be willing to drink urine!

After a few minutes, Liam had a general understanding of the market situation.

Among the people who had arrived, there was no shortage of tough individuals, and some had even managed to kill several mutated creatures with the few tools they had.

Some people had also found treasure chests in the wilderness and opened them to obtain food and tools.

However, water was still the most scarce resource.

Very few people listed water for trade, and even the occasional small amount would be bought up within seconds.

After exiting the trading panel, Liam went to the regional chat again, and this time, there was a lot of useful information.

"As long as you kill a mutated beast, it will drop a treasure chest with various items inside. I just killed a mutated rabbit and got a treasure chest with a bottle of Wahaha and a wrench."

"You can also find treasure chests in the wilderness, be careful not to mistake them for garbage and miss them."

"Can any kind soul give me some food? I haven't eaten anything all day and I'm starving and thirsty."

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

At this stage, few people would focus on developing their shelters. Most were trying to stockpile enough supplies before the next disaster struck.

Liam watched for a while, gaining some useful intelligence.

As mentioned before, the wilderness was full of both danger and opportunity.

After each mutated beast was killed, a treasure chest would be awarded, and the contents were entirely up to 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, during the novice stage, as long as you were willing to explore, you wouldn't starve or die of thirst immediately, and you had a chance of survival.

As for those who were pampered, those who were used to giving orders, and those who had lost their survival instincts, they would probably be the first to be eliminated in this global survival competition involving billions of people.

Liam waited until the sun hanging overhead had set on the horizon, and taking advantage of the last bit of daylight, he pulled up the water bucket.

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

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

Enduring his dry throat, he opened the trading panel and listed 200ml of water for auction.

[Seller: Liam]

[Trading Item: 200ml Underground Mineral Water]

[Required Item: Any Food]

[Comment: Freshly extracted underground water, it took me half a day to dig out this much, only trading for food, the highest bidder wins]

As soon as Liam listed the water, the chat channel instantly exploded.

"Holy crap, someone's listed water for trade, and it's dug out water!"

"There's water underground, don't say anymore, I'm going to dig it out right away!"

"This is the first time I've seen someone dig out water. Most of the water listed today was from treasure chests. Is this person willing to trade it?"

"As long as it's food, I have 300g of bread, can I trade it for this water?"

The world channel was buzzing.

On the other side, a bunch of people started privately messaging Liam through the trading channel.

"Brother Liam, can I trade 20 units of wood for your water? Please have mercy, I'm dying of thirst."

"I have billions in assets, you give me this water, and I'll give you 100 million when I get out, I guarantee you'll be rich and prosperous for the rest of your life."

"Brother Liam, I'm so thirsty, can you give me some water? If we meet, I can promise you anything~"

"Bro, will you trade for 300g of coyote meat + 200g of bread? I want water."

Among the thousands of private messages that flooded in, there were also some from foreigners, but the messages were translated into Chinese by the trading system.

Among these people, there were many familiar faces from his previous life, including celebrities, billionaires, and even government officials.

Some made promises of great wealth, some threatened, and many even directly sent private messages with sexual temptations.

Liam ignored them all.

The first round of disaster was coming in five days, and in these uncertain times, everyone was equal.

Who knew how many of these people would still be alive after the disaster?

After filtering for ten minutes, Liam finally chose the person with the highest offer and completed the trade.

[Record]: You have lost 200ml of water.

[Record]: You have received 350g of bread, 200g of beef jerky, 1 iron ingot, and 1 lighter.

With the completion of the trade, half of the water in the wooden bucket disappeared, and several new items appeared in his inventory.

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

Liam calculated and spent 4 units of wood to craft a wooden chest, putting all the items he had just traded for inside.

Carefully drinking the remaining half of the water from the bucket, Liam went out again before it got completely dark.