Chapter 8: Taking Advantage to the Utmost
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Yu Jiang glanced at the long-abandoned television and used one piece of wood and two iron scraps to craft a claw hammer. A minute later, she picked up the claw hammer and began working, pounding away at the gray health bar until it shattered, reclaiming two iron scraps and a length of electrical wire. In this way, every small item within sight that could be dismantled turned into materials. Watching the ever-filling slots of her backpack, a smile crept up the corner of Yu Jiang’s lips that even AK would struggle to suppress. Fortune is smiling upon me!
The refrigerator’s health bar was too thick; each strike barely reduced its durability. At Yu Jiang’s level, it would take about eighty hits to break it, causing her fatigue to soar. Fearing it might attract zombies, she gave up on that plan. Killing lone zombies was no problem, but the noise might draw too much attention—this parallel highway area resembled a small town. Considering her crystal coins totaled less than a hundred, she decided to ambush and kill two zombies on her way back to round up the amount. Crystal coins: 102. Now she felt much more at ease.
The spot where the zombies fell was reduced to a single remaining wall and several cracked floor tiles. Even the toilet was rotten, offering no supplies—only dried human excrement. Without hesitation, Yu Jiang turned back and smashed the stainless steel faucet, dismantling it to reclaim one iron scrap. Every little bit counts. The motto is: never let a good opportunity go to waste.
By 5:30 p.m., under the gloomy rainy weather, darkness fell quickly. The vast ruins gradually wrapped themselves in shadows. This was the parallel zone, where dangers came not only from monsters but also from people. Without hesitation, Yu Jiang turned and headed back. At the edge of the service area’s entrance ramp, she casually spotted a clump of calamus. She dug it up, roots and all. This was also a medicinal herb, sustainable for ongoing use.
[Player obtained ‘Calamus’ *1, capable of dispelling dampness, soothing the stomach, awakening the mind, reducing phlegm, and stimulating appetite. Used as an ingredient in medicine crafting.]
Entering the service area, Yu Jiang spotted mint and mugwort in a corner and tucked those away as well. There was also a particularly vibrant pokeweed plant. Wearing the gloves used for handling poisonous mushrooms, she plucked some berries and stashed them in her backpack. Not useful right now, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be later.
Witnessing this, the rabbit doll monster’s expression twisted into confusion: ...??? The scavenger not only took parking fees but also managed to fleece some wool! Such terrifying scavengers want everything, and that mutated pokeweed is highly toxic! Yet she smiled as if she were about to lick it up.
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The rabbit doll’s mouth twitched. She dug up plants and even pulled out a claw hammer—this dilapidated, impoverished service area was simply insane! Yu Jiang’s excitement grew as she saw so many free resources everywhere here. She absolutely loved this place!
With two loud strikes, Yu Jiang shattered the health bars of two derelict vehicles behind her. Iron scraps +10, plus one unusable engine. Nearby, a trash bin looked promising, as did the abandoned fuel station by the convenience store entrance.
“Stop hitting things, stop!” the rabbit doll reached out to intervene, grief-stricken. “I’ll give you a blueprint! And waive your parking fee for one night! That’s as much as I can do.”
“Such a good deal?” Yu Jiang sheathed her claw hammer, clasping her hands before her with a bright smile.
“Hmph!” The rabbit doll grudgingly shoved a scroll into her hand.
[Antidote Pill: removes debuffs from insect and plant toxins; cooldown 24 hours; requires Alchemist Level 2.]
[Player achieved new milestone ‘Wool Raker’: You actually snagged a Level 2 blueprint for free in a notoriously stingy service area. Believe in your ability to expand the scavenging business and create new glories!
Reward: Crystal Coins +100, Free Attribute Point +1]
Yu Jiang allocated the point to Agility, boosting her speed. Not only would she run faster, but scavenging would be more efficient as well. However, with items like the antidote pill requiring a relatively high crafting level, she suspected the insect and plant toxins referenced were far from ordinary.
Yu Jiang circled the service area again, feeling a twinge of regret—no other harvestable plants were in sight. Once she obtained a pharmaceutical blueprint, a prompt would appear when the relevant materials were nearby. But waiting to collect materials only when crafting would drag down efficiency, so she always gathered anything recognizable as soon as possible to stockpile.
Her knowledge of medicinal plants came from browsing educational videos online and from an elderly neighbor downstairs who grew many herbs in his yard.
Yu Jiang took the unusable engines to the convenience store for recycling, earning 20 crystal coins. Then she organized materials she couldn’t use immediately. Items that could be sold were listed on the trading system, prices set, and a 20-coin service fee paid upfront. The rest were sorted and stored.
Just then, a cry rang out beside her: “Stop! What you’re carrying is highly toxic! You can’t eat that!”
Yu Jiang glanced at the pocket holding her knife, expression unflinching as she turned around. “Yes, I know.”
Since entering the parallel highway, she had deliberately hidden her information.
Gao You looked at Yu Jiang’s calm demeanor, then at the pokeweed fruit in her hand, and twitched his eyelid.
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He had been eager to find someone to share the cost of a hot shower, but seeing it was a girl, that fell through. Both sized up each other’s vehicle parked in the corner.
Gao You thought: Driving a nearly falling-apart three-wheeler that could still reach 200 kilometers was no small feat. Yu Jiang looked at his shaky metal coffin—no, the camper box lined with a layer of grass—and fell silent for a moment. Purely human-powered, yet it could still go that fast. Impressive, but not very smart.
Gao You took the initiative to introduce his vehicle: “It’s a bit cramped, but safe to sleep in at night. You could upgrade your tricycle with a trailer. I’ve got some iron scraps here; need any?”
It was rare to meet a living person here. Her three-wheeler was missing a door, yet she wanted poisonous fruit. If he could help, he might as well.
Seeing his nickname looked vaguely familiar, Yu Jiang carefully reminded him, “You’ve already upgraded the metal plating, so why not convert it into a human-powered farm tricycle? These trailer camper boxes get damaged after a couple of hits, and soon you’re left with just a bicycle.”
Besides, he was human-powered; once resistance increased, he wouldn’t even be able to move.
Gao You was stunned for a moment, then seemed to have a sudden realization, scratching his head in frustration. “When I saw the option to upgrade the camper box, I didn’t think much and just upgraded everything. Disassembling to redo would be a loss—I’d only get back half the materials.”
An outdoor enthusiast, he’d gotten carried away by the idea of a human-powered camper.
Yu Jiang nodded. “Exactly. You’d better upgrade to an integrated cargo bed. If you don’t have enough resources, you can trade with me. Those strange mushrooms and vibrant plants along the way will do.”
“I only have two puffball mushrooms,” Gao You said hesitantly. They were hard to find, and he wanted to keep them as a lifesaver.
Yu Jiang’s eyes lit up. “Two healing medicines for your two mushrooms. How about that?”
Two puffball mushrooms normally yield four healing potions, or at worst three.
She needed to advance her Alchemist achievement, but relying solely on gathering was too slow.
To make the most profit from this skill, she had to push herself and stay ahead in level.
“Really?! You have healing potions?! Isn’t that too much of a loss for you?” Gao You asked.
“Got them. Want to trade?” Yu Jiang didn’t answer his question.
Though he seemed friendly, she preferred not to reveal more information.