Chapter 5 – 80% Increase in Assets!

Su Ziyun’s voice echoed clearly and steadily in the the silent bus.

“Lin Wanqing’s analysis is correct.”

Hearing this, Zhou Siyu didn’t hesitate for a moment. Her pale finger lightly tapped the light screen.

[Reward confirmed: 100 units of 10-liter standard can of gasoline.]

The light screen before them vanished in an instant.

The next second, the entire bus was flooded by a tidal wave of dark green!

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The dull sound of impacts landed like drumbeats. One hundred standard 10-liter military fuel cans materialized out of thin air in the aisle, instantly piling up into a small mountain that nearly reached the ceiling.

The space inside the bus was now packed to the brim with this sudden influx of supplies.

A strong, metallic, and oily smell filled every corner.

“My god…”

Gu Qingyan swallowed hard. She felt her breathing growing difficult.

This wasn’t a hundred liters, this was a thousand!

While others were still struggling for a sip of water or a piece of bread, they already had an abundant reserve of energy.

This visual impact was far more shocking than any number.

“What are you all standing around gawking for? We’re energy oligarchs, not warehouse keepers.”

Lin Wanqing’s cold voice shattered everyone’s daze. She pushed up the rimless glasses on the bridge of her nose, her gaze behind the lenses remained completely calm, as if the resources before her that could drive the entire region into a frenzy were merely a pile of data waiting to be processed.

“Time is money, especially in this world.”

She stood up directly from her seat and walked to the pile of fuel cans. With a wave of her hand, she stored all 100 cans of gasoline in her inventory. She then separated ten of them.

“Chen Xi, lend a hand.”

A light as bright as stars burst forth in Chen Xi’s eyes. She nodded and extended her slender hand.

[S-rank Talent ‘Matter Reconstruction’ activated!]

[Matter Reconstruction] Effect: Can decompose any item into energy, then use that energy to reconstruct resources that have already been acquired.

The ten fuel cans dissolved into countless specks of light before her eyes, merging into her palm.

“Energy increased by 10,” she reported concisely, then opened her talent panel for everyone to see.

[High-energy nutritional compressed biscuits ×1, requires energy ×1]

[500ml standard bottled purified water ×1, requires energy ×1]

[10-liter standard can of gasoline ×1, requires energy ×1]

“Very good.” Lin Wanqing nodded with satisfaction, then turned to Ye Chen.

“Bus Captain, to maximize trading efficiency, I need proxy speaking rights in the regional chat channel.”

“No problem.” Ye Chen agreed immediately.

[To authorize a proxy spokesperson, you must first name your vehicle.]

The sudden system notification caught everyone off guard.

“How about ‘Victory Goddess’?” Qin Lan suggested, simple and direct.

“Why not ‘Truth’?” Gu Qingyan chimed in, also getting interested.

As Ye Chen listened to the discussion, his mind inexplicably drifted to that SSS-rank talent [Many Children, Many Blessings]. Almost involuntarily, he typed in four characters.

[Vehicle named successfully: Happy Family.]

The inside of the bus fell silent instantly.

All the girls’ expressions turned somewhat strange, especially Gu Qingci, who quietly lowered her head.

Su Ziyun’s gaze towards Ye Chen carried a hint of satisfaction, as if some goal of hers had been achieved.

Once Lin Wanqing obtained the authorization, she ignored this minor incident and immediately got into work mode.

[Happy Family Unit: Selling large quantities of 10-liter standard can of gasoline in exchange for various supplies. Bulk discounts available. Private chat for trade requests.]

This announcement was like a depth charge, setting off a massive explosion in the otherwise dead regional chat channel!

“Holy crap?! Did I read that right? Selling gasoline? And in bulk?!”

“‘Happy Family? That name is kinda weird… but who the hell are these people, starting the game with this much fuel?”

“Private chat? Must be a scammer! Probably trying to raise the price!”

“Upstairs, are you even awake? Look at the thunderstorm behind you. Without fuel, can you escape? Can water and bread make your bus move?”

“Damn! I just happened to have 12 iron ingots here that I found in a supply box at an abandoned construction site! Please, big shot, look at me!”

“I’ll trade 20 units of wood for one can of gasoline! Please! I don’t want to die!”

In an instant, Lin Wanqing’s private chat channel was flooded with countless trade requests.

She ignored the explosive flood of information entirely. Her fingers moved like phantom shadows through the air, rapidly filtering for the most cost-effective orders.

[Trade request accepted: You lost ’10-liter gasoline ×2′ and received ‘High-energy nutritional compressed biscuits ×35’.]

[Trade request accepted: You lost ’10-liter gasoline ×1′ and received ‘Standard iron ingots ×10’.]

…

A steady stream of system notifications echoed through the bus. In the corner, piles of supplies materialized out of thin air and rapidly grew.

“Chen Xi, decompose.” Lin Wanqing directed without even looking up.

“Got it.” Chen Xi stepped forward immediately. With a wave of her hand, the newly arrived supplies dissolved into specks of light and disappeared.

The entire process lasted less than twenty minutes.

“Done, trading finished.” Lin Wanqing let out a breath and stopped her operations.

The bus was once again empty.

Chen Xi’s face was somewhat pale from the frequent use of her talent. She had consumed a large amount of mental energy, but a blazing light burned in her eyes.

She unfolded her talent panel for everyone to see. A staggering number appeared before them.

[Energy: 1810!]

In just twenty minutes, their assets had increased by eighty percent!

But Su Ziyun’s gaze didn’t linger on that number. Instead, she focused on the pale-faced Chen Xi and asked sharply, “Chen Xi, what does your talent consume?”

“Mental energy,” Chen Xi replied, displaying her attribute panel to the group.

[Attribute Panel]

Player: Chen Xi (Passenger)

Talent: Matter Reconstruction.

Health: 100% (Health continuously decreases when injured, hungry/thirsty, poisoned, or burned. Death occurs when health reaches 0%.)

Constitution: 8 (Average adult male starting constitution is 10. Constitution represents physical strength, attack, and defense.)

Agility: 7 (Average adult male starting agility is 10.)

Stamina: 8/8 (Average adult male starting stamina is 10.)

Mental Energy: 50/180 (Starting mental energy is 100. When mental energy drops by 50 points, the user becomes dazed. Below 20 points, the user falls unconscious. At 0, brain death occurs.)

Skills: None.

Titles: None.

Status: Mental energy low, rest is recommended.

“It’s already at the critical threshold.” Su Ziyun frowned at the remaining 50 mental energy.

She immediately turned to the quietest girl in the group.

“An Ran, can your talent heal mental energy depletion?”

Startled at being called out, An Ran trembled slightly, then nodded nervously and said in a small voice, “I… I can.”

Summoning her courage, she displayed her talent and attributes to everyone.

[Player: An Ran (Passenger)]

[Talent: S-rank [Hymn of Life]: Activated by consuming stamina. Can purify contaminated items and heal both health and mental energy. Once per day, can generate a medicinal item out of thin air. Rarity increases based on mental energy consumed. Stamina can be quickly restored by consuming food.]

[Constitution: 9]

[Agility: 6]

[Stamina: 11/11]

[Mental Energy: 150/150]