Guo Lei looked at the message Lin Yue sent on the panel, then turned to glance at his companions behind him.
"He said take it all, Brother Liu, should we really give it to him?"
The bespectacled middle-aged man behind Guo Lei nodded: "Quite the appetite, but can this Lin Yue provide what we need?"
The people beside Brother Liu were drawn over by their dialogue.
They stopped their work when they heard the name "Lin Yue."
Lin Yue was a legendary figure within Guo Lei’s group, someone who survived alone yet outscored many team survivalists with the highest points.
The last time’s ranking score of 2195 — it was a standout achievement not only in Guo Lei’s group but also in the various other groups at the large Shelter.
The system’s groupings are quite odd, even people in adjacent shelters might not be in the same group.
Survivors can choose to abandon their original group and join another when teaming up to survive.
This enormous Shelter community has sixty-two survivors, forming quite a sizable group.
They haven’t physically connected their Shelters but formed a village-like community, with roads keeping distance between them, building walls, creating a unique landscape in the Otherworld.
Most of them are people from Tang Country, sharing a sense of common identity.
Under Liu Kai’s leadership, they continuously absorbed new survivors, hunted, and ventured into Secret Realms and Ruins, gaining various resources while strengthening their own power.
Through exploration of the Otherworld, Secret Realms, and newly appeared Underground Ruins, the resources they gather are distributed to everyone based on the principle of distribution by labor.
They all tacitly agreed to this rule among themselves.
The world is extremely survival of the fittest; trying to survive alone is likely to result in various issues.
Grouping together ensures at least some basic security and sustenance for everyone, especially those unable to survive on their own, like the elderly and children.
But now, they’re facing difficulties.
Again, water shortage.
The drinking water crisis unknowingly easily invaded this village.
Originally, these survivors thought after withstanding the initial water and food crisis, the system’s upgrades bringing more mutated creatures would provide stable survival resources.
But unexpectedly, as the population grew, water gradually became a problem again.
The reason is simple.
The densely populated village saw an increase in mutated creatures nearby, but the drop rate of treasure chests depends heavily on luck; even a Wooden Treasure Chest doesn’t provide enough water for such a large population.
Apparently, water resources can only be obtained this way, with no other means.
So they’ve started cautiously trading water with other survivors, but with little success.
After all, with more people coming together, and original survivors bringing parents and children, more food and water are needed for sufficiency, but the parents and children can’t earn more, leading to conflicts breaking out.
Ultimately, everyone knows to tightly reserve their water resources and wouldn’t easily put them on the trading panel.
Whatever gets listed is instantly snatched by survivors monitoring the trading panel.
Just like in the beginning!
"Lin Yue, what I want is simple, just...just water, how much do you have?"
After Lin Yue waited a bit, Guo Lei finally revealed his demand.
Just asking for water?
Lin Yue indeed had plenty, but...
Lin Yue quickly opened the trading panel, searched, and slightly browsed through the group content, understanding the situation.
Goodness, finally here, the second or inevitable water shortage!
Initially, he thought after the first disaster ended, water shortage would appear before the next disaster, but didn’t expect it to erupt only after the second disaster.
Population concentration provides convenience but swiftly brings more problems.
Such issues like "neighbor Wang is the real dad" aside, when the system reward water and food brought by these newly arrived people are depleted, the primary workforce within the shelter faces a serious problem.
One person goes out to hunt for a large family, while the chest drop rate remains deeply unsatisfying...
The water crisis will rapidly shatter these survivors’ minds who barely survived the disasters!
"How much water do you need?"
Lin Yue knew the positions had shifted.
He’s no longer the buyer but becoming the sought-after provider upon learning about the collective water shortage, regaining the upper hand!
"Whatever water you have, I want it all." Guo Lei replied immediately.
Lin Yue exclaimed WDNMD.
Goodness, what is this, performing comedy now?
If I reply "Are you crazy," he’s probably answering, "Do you have medicine," turning into a deadlock loop.
He restrained the urge to close the chat panel abruptly and calmly typed, "Could you get someone else to talk to me, my head hurts conversing with you."
Guo Lei turned to Liu Kai: "Brother Liu, what to do? He says his head hurts talking to me."
Though Liu Kai didn’t see Guo Lei’s messages, he knew this guy’s communication skills were indeed problematic; he coughed lightly and said, "Just tell him, Lin Yue, we have a total of 20 Hard Aluminum Alloys, would like to exchange for 20L of water, okay?"
Liu Kai also lamented, this Lin Yue indeed lives up to his legendary reputation, instantly shifting the trade status, making them the buyers now.
But he didn’t want to be passive forever.
Guo Lei, after inputting, quickly received a reply.
"Brother Liu, this bastard actually said 30 Hard Aluminum Alloys for 20L of water!"
Liu Kai took a deep breath: "Don’t waste words on him, make him lower the price."
Guo Lei quickly received another reply.
"Brother Liu, he says 40 Hard Aluminum Alloys for 20L of water!"
Liu Kai laughed angrily: "You tell him, we’re all from Tang Country, mutual benefit, alright? Total 33 for 30 liters of water!"
"Brother Liu, he’s blocked me!" Guo Lei suddenly cursed, "Is he mentally ill or something?"