The strongest life skills player

Chapter 11 Scavenging Team

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Chen Huai opened his eyes. The roughness of the dry straw mat made him feel uncomfortable all over, but this was not the main reason why he hadn't slept well.

Chen Huai yawned, rubbed his temples, and then lifted the tattered felt cloth that served as a door curtain before going out.

The campsite was still filled with the smell of smoke from the campfire the night before, the dampness of the dew, and the lingering stench of rat meat.

Old Lei was standing not far away. When he saw Chen Huai come out, he asked somewhat cautiously:

"My lord...you...didn't sleep well?"

Chen Huai twitched the corner of his mouth.

Nonsense! If you could hear someone in the next tent plotting how to sabotage you, how could you possibly sleep soundly!

However, he pretended that nothing had happened.

"Yeah, I'm not used to it yet."

Last night he received a vivid lesson, which perfectly illustrated what a real wasteland is, completely different from the game world he saw in the holographic projection in the conference room.

Being wary of people's hearts is more exhausting than being wary of wild beasts.

However, he had no intention of leaving immediately.

Not to mention that he hasn't fully grasped the information about his surroundings yet, leaving would be a chaotic and confusing experience. He might end up deep in the forest again, and he can't guarantee that the other beasts will show him mercy like that cat demon did.

What's more, he hasn't settled the score from last night yet.

"In my game, do you think a superhuman like me would be bullied by a mere ordinary person like me?"

Old Lei held up an earthenware bowl containing a few pieces of roasted, golden-brown sweet potatoes and a small strip of smoked jerky.

"Breakfast was a bit simple."

"Um."

Chen Huai nodded and accepted it.

He ate quickly, but his eyes kept scanning the camp, paying particular attention to the other side.

Zhou Yan was standing on a slightly higher rock, assigning tasks with a serious expression.

"Instead of passively defending, it's better to take the initiative."

Chen Huai swallowed the last piece of sweet potato, handed the bowl back to Lao Lei, and pondered in his heart.

Staying here allows for observation, but the information is too limited. We must go out and understand the terrain, resource points, and potential hazards in this area.

Maps are essential for survival.

What he was more looking forward to was whether he could trigger any more missions during the operation. Compared to NPCs who required him to cultivate step by step, being able to improve through the experience points gained from missions was the foundation for him to stand firm in this dangerous world.

Chen Huai walked straight towards Zhou Yan.

As he approached, the refugees instinctively made way for him.

"Chief Zhou, what are the arrangements for the camp today?"

Zhou Yan quickly jumped down from the rock, clasped his hands in a respectful greeting:

"Our daily routine mainly consists of hunting and scavenging. Almost all the strong and able-bodied men in the camp have to go out. Today, we've split into three teams..."

"Then I'll go with Old Lei's scavenging team to take a look today."

Zhou Yan's eyes lit up, and he said respectfully:

"We would be delighted if you, sir, were willing to come along."

Choosing Lao Lei was a decision Chen Huai made after weighing the options last night.

Compared to Zhou Yan and that Da Tian, ​​this man looked more honest and his gratitude towards him seemed genuine.

……

The so-called scavenging team was just Old Lei leading three equally thin men, plus Chen Huai.

The destination, "Tin Cemetery," is a few miles away, a collapsed highway ruin.

As we walked through the wasteland surrounding the camp, the air grew increasingly hot.

Yesterday, Chen Huai didn't notice because his body was different from ordinary people. Summers in the wasteland are much hotter. You could tell by how the four ordinary people were covered in sweat after walking for only a short time.

No matter how bad the weather is, the work still has to be done.

The twisted and deformed vehicle wreckage was half-buried in the mud and wildly spreading vines. Some of it was rusted to a dark red color, while others still retained their pale paint, like the pale ribs of a giant beast piercing the gray sky.

"Sir, please watch your step. There are many shards of broken glass and thorns from snake vines. If you get pricked, it will cause itching and swelling."

Old Lei walked ahead, using a stick to push aside a clump of vines, revealing a rusty metal box half-buried in the mud.

He crouched down, skillfully inserting a crowbar into the deformed gap. His arm muscles bulged, and with a tooth-grinding metallic tearing sound, the lid of the box was pried open.

Inside were several clumps of dark, oil-stained cables and a few oddly shaped metal blocks.

Old Lei carefully straightened and coiled the cable, then picked up a metal block and weighed it in his hand. He used a small stone he carried with him to scrape off the thick rust on the surface, revealing a small, relatively shiny silver piece.

"Luckily, it's tough copper."

He grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth:

"The merchants in Falling Star City buy this stuff for three times the price of scrap metal! That's enough to buy two tubes of inferior nutritional paste."

Although the wasteland is never short of scavengers and most valuable items have long been looted, there are always some left over, or "newly born" items.

Chen Huai watched their efficient and silent movements, like a group of ants rummaging through the stomach of death for scraps.

He imitated her, using his toes to push aside a curved sheet of iron covered with thick moss, underneath which lay half a black board full of sockets.

Old Lei leaned over for a glance, then shook his head:

"Scrap circuit boards are worthless, unless they have gold fingers... Look, those shiny gold edges have long been pried off."

He pointed to another, smaller fragment next to him and said.

Chen Huai observed silently, his spiritual perception spreading out without a sound.

His mental strength of over 30 points grants him a level of sensitivity far exceeding that of ordinary people. When he is fully focused on sensing, he can even hear ants crawling in the rusted frame of a car, smell the faint differences in the scents of different metals deep in the soil, and even vaguely sense the faint presence of buried objects.

He walked to a pile of half-collapsed concrete blocks entwined with vines and vaguely sensed a weak but steady energy radiation emanating from beneath them.

Signaling to the people nearby for help, the group worked together to pry open a heavy cement slab, revealing a tightly sealed silver metal can underneath. A blurry, clover-shaped logo on the can had not yet completely faded.

Old Lei went over to take a look, tapped it with a crowbar, and listened to the dull echo:

"It's heavy steel, good material!"

The day passed quickly. Normally, scavenging teams rarely have much to show for it, and it's common for them to come up empty-handed. However, thanks to Chen Huai's participation, the day's harvest was quite plentiful.

No wonder so many people dream of becoming superhumans.

The atmosphere was much more relaxed on the way back.

Old Lei walked beside Chen Huai and started talking non-stop.

Chen Huai's silence and unintentional guidance led this honest and straightforward man to reveal many harsh details of survival in the camp.

"...Sweet potatoes are our lifeline."

Old Lei pointed to a few small, grayish fields that had been reclaimed in the distant mountain valley:

"The seeds are precious; they were earned by Old Zhou with his life. The soil is poor, there are many insects, and the harvest depends on the weather. Even so, we still have to watch out for Ironclaw Birds that come to dig them up; those beasts only eat potato tubers."

He spat:

"The thorn rats steal grain and bite people, but at least if you chase them away, there's still some left. But what if a pack of wolves or wild boars breaks into the camp..."

He shuddered and didn't say anything more, but the fear in his eyes was real.

"Why don't you go look for dungeons?"

Chen Huai asked casually, but this was his biggest question.

According to the game's setting, there isn't just one dungeon in the wasteland, but dozens of dungeons of varying sizes. Otherwise, even if their life skills game players were few in number, one dungeon wouldn't be enough.

Moreover, this is the first complete virtual reality game, which should attract more players to participate.

In the game's lore, each of these dungeons was established with the mission of maintaining human civilization.

Many large underground cities contain a large amount of pre-nuclear war technology and resources. With the help of the underground city residents, life would be much better, and even having food wouldn't be a problem.

Old Lei immediately shook his head blankly:

"What dungeon?"