He finally took the food, and tears fell to the ground.
"They... really just want to survive," Chen Wei’s voice was very light and almost dissipated in his ears.
Liora stood quietly in place, looking at the more than 100 ragged and skinny survivors in front of her. Her fingertips slowly tightened, and a corner of her heart was gently touched.
They are not wrong. They are not enemies. They are just ordinary people abandoned by this world.
But she holds resources and choices in her hands.
"Hmm..." She sighed softly, her eyebrows slightly raised, and a thought suddenly popped up in her mind.
"By the way, I still have a factory."
Her eyes lit up for a moment.
For a month, the automated factory controlled by the system has quietly produced nearly 500 packs of instant noodles. At that time, she was in the depths of the Misty Forest or sleeping for a whole week after killing a ninth-order mutant zombie, and this batch of instant noodles was quietly produced during that time.
Enough for each of these people to get four to five packs.
"Of course, it’s not free." She snorted lightly, with the calmness and calculation of a doomsday strongman in her eyes.
These people may not have power, but they still have low-level crystal cores hidden in them to a greater or lesser extent. And her factory needs to be upgraded; only by doing missions and selling the items from the factory could it update.
Since the system arranged for her to have such a large-scale factory, it is definitely not just for her to stock up on instant noodles alone—
"Resources are not just for hoarding but for trading."
Just when this thought came to her mind, the system’s prompt sound suddenly rang in her ears—
[Ding... New task has been triggered: Establish a Level 1 base.]
[Small solar power generation device (1 set)]
[Water purifier (1 unit)]
[Simple defense fence building material package (10 sets)]
[Basic living module drawings (dormitory)]
"Establish a base... As expected, what I want to do now is not to fight alone but to become the real controller of this wasteland."
She slowly raised her head and looked at the more than one hundred pairs of hungry but eager-to-live eyes.
"If it can be exchanged for trust, if it can be exchanged for crystal cores... why not?"
Just as the chaotic air began to settle, Liora turned around and silently walked back to the Hummer. Her team watched her curiously as she reached inside, then suddenly began pulling out something unexpected from her space: pack after pack of instant noodles, almost a hundred in total.
The bright packaging seemed out of place in the grim wasteland, and for a moment, even the wind seemed stunned.
She calmly called out to her team, "Come here. Help me move these."
Everyone looked at one another in shock. Their eyes widened as the growing pile of noodles stacked up beside her, and even Ji Ming, Zhao Ren, and the rest of the group came over, stunned by the sheer number.
"Where did all of this come from?" Yun Shou finally asked.
"I’ll explain later," Liora said with a calm voice.
Chen Wei blinked, confused. "You’re going to give them out?"
"Not give." Liora’s expression remained firm. "Sell. Each person can buy up to five packs. They need to pay with first-level crystal cores. We need them for upgrades."
Understanding flashed across Chen Wei’s face. He nodded at once and motioned for several teammates to help. Together, they hauled down box after box of instant noodles, stacking them into a neat pile that quickly became a small mountain in front of the vehicle.
"Don’t just stand there!" Chen Wei shouted to the surrounding crowd. "We’re not handing them out for free! Each person is limited to five packs, and you must pay with first-grade crystal cores. If you don’t want to trade, then don’t line up!"
At first, the sight of that towering pile of instant noodles caused an uproar.
The hungry eyes of the survivors flickered with a dangerous glint. A few people in the back clenched their fists, whispering among themselves. Someone muttered, "Why trade? Just snatch it..." The voice was faint, but enough to stir the hearts of a few desperate ones.
Three men slowly edged forward, eyes darting between each other. They moved silently, bodies tensed, as if waiting for the right moment to lunge. The death of their leader had shaken them, but not enough to kill their hunger. That pile of food was too tempting.
But just as they took another step—Xu Kai turned around and looked directly at them. No words. Just a look was enough.
His cold, razor-sharp eyes were darker than steel and deeper than a killing field. It wasn’t just a stare—it was a silent warning soaked in blood.
Then Zhao Ren took one lazy step forward and cracked his neck. "What? You want to try?"
Beside him, Ji Ming smiled with the lollipop still hanging from his lips. "If you’re tired of living, just say so."
Even Shen Haoran, who usually stayed quiet, narrowed his eyes, and his gloomy eyes were enough to warn them.
The pressure hit the group of three like a crashing wave.
Suddenly, they couldn’t breathe. Their backs were soaked in sweat. Their legs trembled. It wasn’t a look they saw—it was a killing intent that screamed louder than words: You move, you die.
One of them staggered back. Another dropped the iron pipe he had picked up without realizing. The third turned pale and lowered his head like a frightened dog. The idea of looting instantly vanished from their hearts, completely crushed by fear.
Their leader was dead. They had no direction. And now, even the tiniest bit of rebellion was like a joke before monsters in human skin.
The whispers stopped.
At first, the survivors hesitated. No one dared to move. But then, a ragged man stepped forward, trembling, and reached into his torn pocket. He pulled out fifty low-grade glowing crystal cores, dusty but intact, and handed them over.
He was given five packs of instant noodles in exchange.
That was the moment hope caught fire.
"I... I have some too!" A woman cried out, holding a bundle of cores close to her chest.
"Please, three packs. My son hasn’t eaten in days!"
"I’ll give you a thousand first-level cores! Please, let me buy more!"
The line quickly swelled, and the air filled with murmurs, cries, and hurried footsteps. Some wept in relief. Others clutched their noodles as though they had been handed treasure.
She just watched quietly, watching the bags of instant noodles being tightly grasped by trembling hands, watching hope quietly sprout in the brokenness.
[Ding Task Progress: First-level Base Trust Value +20%]