Chapter 13 - Chapter 13: Water Crisis

"[Skill book obtained: Holy Light Healing (Priest exclusive)]"

Although it wasn't a Hunter class skill book, Han Xing remembered that Shen Yun seemed to have chosen the Priest class.

At that moment, someone suddenly messaged him in the trading channel, asking to exchange for his green longbow.

"Oh? Finally, someone got a green equipment blueprint?"

Han Xing clicked on the message and saw it was from someone named "Smart Little Lamb."

A voice message appeared in the private chat window, and Han Xing clicked to play it.

"Uh…hello… I want to exchange for your weapon, are you available?"

The voice sounded like a young girl, soft and sweet, yet natural, not forced, as if this was her normal tone.

Han Xing replied, "Yes, what are you offering in exchange?"

Smart Little Lamb: "I… I saw that you need a green equipment blueprint. I happen to have one… Maybe you could… take a look?"

She seemed somewhat scared of Han Xing, or maybe she just wasn't used to normal conversation.

"Send it over for me to see," Han Xing said directly.

"Okay… sure…"

"[Survivor 'Smart Little Lamb' has initiated a trade request.]"

Han Xing: "..."

"Aren't you going to show me the blueprint? Why start a trade?"

Smart Little Lamb hurriedly said, "Huh? Don't you need to give the item to see its attributes?"

Han Xing: "..."

"What are you talking about? If you give it to me, the trade will be complete. What if I take your item and run? Who would you trade with then?"

Smart Little Lamb: "???"

"No… no way… You wouldn't take my item and run, right?"

Han Xing was speechless. This woman seemed a bit clueless.

He really wanted to say, "Yes, I would."

But after thinking about it, he simply said, "Fine, put the item in the trade window, and I'll check its attributes."

"Ah? Oh… okay!" Smart Little Lamb responded hesitantly.

Soon, Han Xing saw a green blueprint appear in the trade window.

"[Beast Hide Coat Blueprint (Green)]"

It was indeed a green equipment blueprint, and it was for a coat.

Han Xing immediately had the urge to obtain it.

In the past, Han Xing would usually haggle with the other party to make them offer more.

But seeing that this woman seemed a bit slow, he gave up on that idea.

He placed his high-quality longbow into the trade and completed the transaction.

"[Beast Hide Coat Blueprint (Green) acquired. Learn?]"

"Learn."

A fifth blueprint appeared in the blueprint section, and a small smile appeared on Han Xing's lips.

At that moment, Smart Little Lamb sent him another message.

"Uh… thank you…"

Han Xing replied, "No need to thank me. We both got what we needed. Just remember not to trade so easily next time."

Smart Little Lamb: "Mm! Thank you!"

After closing the private chat, Han Xing's expression changed as he looked at the blueprint section again, unable to suppress his excitement.

"[Materials required to craft Beast Hide Coat: 1-star Beast Hide*3, Spirit Core*20, Ether*50, Warrior's Badge*1.]"

The materials needed to craft the coat were quite a lot, including three 1-star beast hides. Fortunately, the three snake hides he had just gathered could be used as substitutes.

As for the other materials, he already had the Spirit Cores and Ether, but he had never heard of the "Warrior's Badge."

So, he began searching for information in the trading channel.

He quickly found a survivor named "Cola," who happened to be selling a Warrior's Badge for 500g of food.

The price was reasonable, so Han Xing opened a private chat.

"500g of snake meat for the Warrior's Badge."

Two seconds later, Cola replied, "Bro, I don't need food anymore. Do you have any water? Give me 400ml, no, 300ml will do!"

Han Xing looked at his remaining drinking water. After his own consumption, there was less than 600ml left.

He realized that despite all his exploring, he hadn't found much drinking water.

Even though Han Xing had been continuously exploring and fighting, the water he found was scarce. It was likely that other survivors had even fewer resources.

Han Xing guessed that everyone was now facing a severe water shortage.

A glance at the trading channel confirmed his suspicions. Many had changed their trade requests to ask for water.

The chat channel was also filled with complaints:

"I'm so thirsty… so thirsty…"

"Me too! This world has way too little water. At this rate, we're all going to die of thirst!"

"Does anyone have water? I can't hold on much longer…"

Han Xing suddenly remembered that in the mobile version of this game, he had also faced a water shortage, which had nearly led to his character's death and game failure.

It wasn't until he had barely hung on for several days that a rainstorm finally solved his water problem.

Han Xing didn't know what the situation was like in other region channels, but for Channel 107, at least, they would need a heavy rain to solve the water crisis.

But how many people could hold on until then?

With that in mind, Han Xing said to Cola, "Brother, I don't have much water myself. I can only give you 200ml at most."

Han Xing had to think of his own survival. After trading 200ml, he would barely have enough to last another day.

He expected Cola to haggle, but to his surprise, Cola immediately responded excitedly, "Deal! 200ml is fine! Let's trade right away!"

As if afraid Han Xing would change his mind, Cola quickly sent a trade request.

"[Trade complete. You received: Warrior's Badge*1. You lost: 200ml of drinking water.]"

Holding the leather-like badge, Han Xing pondered.

Meanwhile, in a floating island territory somewhere, Levi stood with a dark expression as he looked at the discussion group he had formed.

Many people opposed the decision he had just made.

As a major shareholder of the Lei Corporation, Levi stood up and said, "Everyone, listen to me. Our Lei Corporation is a family. If you've joined us, then you're part of that family."

"I know water resources are tight right now. I'm not asking you to hand over your water because I want to take it for myself, but to distribute it fairly and help our family members who are on the verge of dying of thirst."

"In times like these, we must stay united and face this crisis together."

"Trust my character. Those who contribute water this time, I will remember your efforts. You won't be treated unfairly in the future."

The discussion group went silent, and the atmosphere turned awkward.

After a moment, someone named Chen Anjiang spoke up, "Mr. Lei, we handed over materials, equipment, and even a lot of food because we believed in your ability to lead us to develop and survive."

"But water is essential to our survival…"