Road Survival, I Have a Hint System!

Before having an electric fan, Su Qi thought she could tolerate the heat.

But once she found a way to get one, the air suddenly felt unbearably stifling. It seemed like if the fan wasn’t installed soon, she’d pass out from the heat in the next second.

So, after Zhang Tuohai agreed to the trade, Su Qi immediately sent over the blueprint.

As promised, Zhang Tuohai sent the electric fan.

“How do you install this thing?” Su Qi asked curiously as she looked at the two fans.

A system prompt appeared: “Discovered vehicle fans. Install now?”

“Install,” Su Qi eagerly commanded.

With a flash of white light, the two fans were installed on the car roof.

“So refreshing. Finally, the fan’s blowing. Any longer, and I would’ve melted from the heat.”

Su Qi pressed her face against the fan’s protective mesh, looking utterly content.

Seeing his sister like this, Su Mu shook his head. In reality, it was already evening, and the temperature was dropping quickly. In another hour or two, they’d probably need blankets to stay warm.

Su Qi’s reaction was purely psychological.

Still, seeing her so happy, Su Mu didn’t say anything. In this apocalyptic world, constantly facing the pressure of survival, people needed to find small moments of joy, or they’d go mad.

While Su Qi enjoyed her fan, Zhang Tuohai was busy crafting a dual fuel-electric engine.

With all the necessary materials on hand, he quickly got to work.

Soon, the hybrid engine was integrated with the turbo engine.

Unlike before, the hybrid engine was a level-2 component, boosting the car’s top speed from 100 mph to 200 mph. However, the turbo engine, being a level-1 component, couldn’t apply its double-speed buff to the level-2 engine.

Still, the system retained the turbo engine’s effect of temporarily boosting the speed by 100 mph. This meant that Zhang Tuohai’s car now had a maximum speed of 300 mph, making it 30% faster than other level-2 vehicles.

In terms of top speed, he was far ahead of the competition.

With this, Zhang Tuohai had completed half of the task needed to upgrade his level-2 car to level-3, which required the installation of two level-2 car components.

Now, all he needed was one more level-2 car part and an upgrade blueprint to transform his vehicle into a level-3 car.

“I’m dying to see what a level-3 car looks like,” Zhang Tuohai said, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

Of course, this was just wishful thinking. He didn’t even have a lead on where to get another level-2 car part.

After finishing with the engine, Zhang Tuohai leaned back in his seat, enjoying the air conditioning while browsing the regional channel.

Half an hour later, seeing that no one was really trading materials anymore, Zhang Tuohai took down his purchase notice.

Though he had gathered quite a few common materials, he wasn’t entirely satisfied.

He knew that people definitely had more valuable items, but they were unwilling to sell them.

Now, it was time for him to offer something good.

But what should he choose?

Zhang Tuohai began rummaging through his supplies, taking stock.

Bows and other ranged weapons were out of the question, as they were vital for Su Mu and Su Qi’s safety.

He could offer food, but he still had some grease cakes left, and if people got too accustomed to them, they wouldn’t sell for much.

Water was out too, as the price had stabilized, and those who had good items likely didn’t lack water.

After thinking it over, Zhang Tuohai’s gaze landed on his vehicle repair kits.

After a recent rally race, everyone’s cars were likely damaged to some extent. A repair kit that could instantly fix all issues would surely fetch a high price.

As for items like sun protection clothing, sunshades, or electric fans, Zhang Tuohai decided to sell them on the last day, when their value would be even higher.

Having made his decision, Zhang Tuohai listed a vehicle repair kit on the trade channel, pricing it at an outrageous 99,999 liters of water, and announced in the chat: “Selling vehicle repair kit, can instantly repair all car damage. Private message me if interested. Only accepting blueprints! Note: Only blueprints.”

After posting a picture of the repair kit’s effect, the regional chat immediately exploded with excitement.

After a day of rally racing, especially that final battle against the mutant desert spiders, many people’s cars had taken some damage.

Some had broken doors, others shattered windows.

One poor soul even had the roof of their car ripped off by a mutant desert spider.

That was a real pain.

Without a roof, they’d be exposed to the scorching sun by day and freezing winds by night. Who could stand that?

So, when people saw there was a tool to fix their cars, they went crazy.

“You’re amazing! How did you even get this? Need a sidekick? I can cheer you on!”

“Can you lower the price? I don’t have a blueprint. I’ll trade a box of instant noodles for it.”

“I’ve got a baseball bat blueprint. Can we trade?”

“I’ve got a lifelike doll, identical to the real thing—blonde, twin-tails, nearly brand new. Want to trade?”

“Can I borrow the kit? I’ll pay you back tomorrow when I get a blueprint.”

Zhang Tuohai couldn’t help but shake his head as he watched the chat flood with messages.

These people sure had diverse collections—even a lifelike doll.

But what use did he have for that? It was heavy, didn’t move, and was utterly useless.

Ignoring the junk offers, Zhang Tuohai started checking his private messages.

As he expected, many had indeed managed to get blueprints.

Though most were level-1 blueprints, some had valuable items.

For example, someone had a blueprint for a high-grade skinning knife, which could reduce meat wastage and preserve fur quality.

Another had a blueprint for a special forces tactical suit, equipped with protective plates capable of withstanding handgun fire to vital areas.

The most tempting offer, though, was from someone with a statue blueprint.

[Goddess of War’s Protection: Statue, Level-2 Car Component. Reduces the likelihood of beast attacks when equipped.]

[Materials: Intermediate Wood x2 units, Ordinary Essence x1]

[Placement Requirements: Level-2 Vehicle]

This was the second statue blueprint Zhang Tuohai had come across.

The first had been for a Lucky Mermaid Statue.

To be honest, he didn’t have much personal need for this one.

Beast attacks no longer posed much of a threat to him—in fact, he somewhat welcomed more beasts, as they meant extra food.

But just because he didn’t need it didn’t mean others wouldn’t.

Not everyone had his level of equipment. For most players, wild beasts were still a huge danger.

For them, this statue would be invaluable.

Zhang Tuohai figured he could make quite a profit by getting his hands on it.