"Three Starfire 26 Semi-automatic Tactical Rifles plus 120 bullets can be traded for about five days of food for a ten-person caravan, or 80 liters of gasoline.
Yet these weapons together can only be exchanged for two boxes of antibiotics.
Besides that, water purifiers, heating equipment, and communication devices have begun to increase in value as the apocalypse drags on.
Therefore, the red bean, also known as the Mysterious Blood Essence by the Phoenix Society, has become a new form of hard currency in trade, with its value increasingly being unearthed as the eternal night invasion continues and research deepens.
It enables communication during the dark tide, allows for glimpsing into the dark world, enhances Superpowers, and can even be used to detect Spirit Swinging Values to assess the danger level of an area...
It’s easy to see how important it is.
Lin Xian is very eager for that Soul Swinging Value Detector at this time.
If they could have such a device installed on the train, they could determine the risk level of an area when they stop to rest, which would greatly enhance the safety during the train’s downtime and also allow him to spend more time exploring the Mechanical Heart.
It wasn’t long before most of the caravans had negotiated trades with each other, and no one lingered before starting to exchange.
At this moment, the middle-aged man named Xu Jin, looking anxious, walked over, followed by the woman named Shu Qin.
"If it’s not too much trouble, could we take a look at her water purifier?"
Shu Qin, with short hair and not tall, nonetheless had a capable demeanor, and said to Lin Xian, "Right, if you can fix it, I can provide compensation."
"Let’s go take a look."
Lin Xian said to KIKI, "Kid, have Building fetch the stuff we just negotiated for and exchange it with that glasses-wearing guy for his red beans."
"Got it." KIKI helped arrange the trade.
Exiting the abandoned factory, the snow intensified, and walking on the snow produced a squeaking sound.
Many of the survivors from the caravans outside were already wearing thick clothes, but some still dressed lightly, shivering in the snowy night.
Lin Xian followed behind, his gaze sweeping over these Survivor Caravans; almost every vehicle was full of mud, and the undried bloodstains presented a dark red color under the cover of night. Those tasked with guarding, some with keen eyes, some with expressionless faces, circled all vehicles carrying supplies, water, including children at the center of the caravan.
Shu Qin’s caravan is a small one, with only eight vehicles, one of which is a pickup with a water tank attached to the back, and a makeshift rainwater collector made of sheet metal on top.
"You can’t drink the rainwater that falls directly from the sky, not even after boiling it. It must be filtered first; otherwise, the heater will break down quickly, and it will also use a lot of electricity."
Shu Qin patted the sheet metal water tank, her expression grave, "Drinking too much rainwater not only causes fever and diarrhea due to a large number of bacteria, but it also produces terrifying hallucinations, causing great torment to the psyche."
"That’s true." Xu Jin sighed, "We’ve been searching for water for two days. We were using homemade filters and then distilling it into purified water, but that consumed too much fuel..."
Lin Xian secretly gasped upon hearing this; on his Infinity, there were only bottled purified waters previously scavenged, and since he had never received a broadcast from the Phoenix Society, he had not considered this problem at all.
Now thinking about it, he became alert. The biggest advantages of the Infinity compared to these caravans were its loading and protective capabilities, which allowed him to carry many supplies.
But bottled water will eventually run out, and the train only has boiling water and steam generators, without any water purification equipment.
He had thought that with Ice Shield, there would be no shortage of water but had not considered the sanitation of the water; it was fortunate he licked it only once...
Since there was an abundance of bottled water, the train was not in dire need of using Ice Shield’s water. Who knows whether the water from Ice Shield is generated out of thin air or condensed from the surrounding air moisture? If they got sick from it, it could be incredibly troublesome. Previously, the rush to gather supplies at the outpost at night was too hasty, aside from weaponry, food, and water, he had only found some medical supplies like bandages and iodine.
Even now, disinfectants like iodine were becoming critically needed supplies...
Moreover, now that they needed heating, the consumption of electricity was tremendous.
His Superpower, Mechanical Heart, was already feeling a considerable physical strain, with daily assaults...
Damn it, when I get back, I’ll devour those cars behind, including that unusable locomotive, leaving only Qian Yu’s armored vehicle and my own motorcycle as a backup, to reduce the burden and enhance my Mechanical Heart level as soon as possible.
"Let me have a look."
Lin Xian took out a flashlight, climbed onto the pickup truck, and pretended to start checking the water purification equipment."
In fact, his [Mechanical Scan] had quietly activated, swiftly scanning the blueprint of the water purifier and simultaneously checking where the problem lay.
[Scan successful, obtained Blue Sky KK-93 reverse osmosis water purifier blueprint]
Soon, a small water purifier holographic blueprint appeared on the light screen in front of Lin Xian.
"But it requires PVC filter membrane material..."
Lin Xian slightly frowned, previously he had devoured mostly main metals, and ever since he activated the Decomposition ability, it had been a long time since he devoured those civilian-use machines and household appliances.
"Looks like I need to find a place to scavenge properly, although the Mechanical Source Point might not give much, it can provide some of the essential materials."
"How is it? Captain Lin, can you fix it?"
Xu Jin seemed to be even more anxious than Shu Qin, looking like he hadn’t had water for a day or two.
That’s why earlier he bartered some weapons and daily necessities for quite a bit of clean water to meet this urgent need.
"It’s possibly an electrical circuit problem, can you find me a screwdriver and some pliers?"
He sounded very professional, and upon hearing this, Xu Jin and Shu Qin immediately lit up.
For Shu Qin, if it could be fixed, she would be able to barter it for a lot of useful goods.
As for Xu Jin, it would truly solve his pressing problem.
Shu Qin quickly told someone from the caravan to bring over a toolbox to Lin Xian.
"Captain Lin, to fix this, what do you need..."
"Just twenty cans will do," said Lin Xian who had scanned Shu Qin’s vehicles earlier, noticing her limited supplies. The somber looks of her dozen crew members clearly did not suggest affluence.
She had initially provided Lin Xian with benevolent advice and was straightforward in sharing with him the information about the superpowers they knew of. Lin Xian felt some goodwill towards this female captain, and since he also obtained the blueprint for the water purifier, he did not ask for too much in return.
If she repaired the water purifying equipment, she could trade it with Xu Jin for goods worth at least two red beans. Twenty cans hardly accounted for a tenth of that value; indeed, it was a very conscientious offer.
"Really?!" Shu Qin’s face lit up with joy. "That’s great, I’ll go get them for you right away!"
Actually, Lin Xian had another reason for requesting the cans.
During the campfire trade earlier, he had not included any goods or water in his demands, and as he was aboard a train, this could create the impression that his Unlimited Fleet wasn’t lacking any food or water.
Thinking of this, Lin Xian purposely asked for canned food as a reward, taking some precautions.
Beside him, Xu Jin was also full of eagerness, seeing from Lin Xian’s aura that the fault seemed uncomplicated, indicating that there might be fewer issues with the water purifier and thus reassuring him further.
Without a word, Lin Xian began unscrewing the cover with the screwdriver while feigning deep thought with a furrowed brow.
Actually, he had already fixed it while operating the Mechanical Heart. Although the problem wasn’t severe, it would still be quite troublesome for a layperson to fix. Thanks to Lin Xian’s extraordinary Mechanical Heart ability, he simply utilized some materials from his Decomposition space to repair the circuit board and the water pump motor, also managing to clear the blockage incidentally.
"It should be okay now..."
After busying himself for a while, Lin Xian tightened the screws, wiped the sweat from his brow, and said to Shu Qin,
"Sure!" Shu Qin hurriedly clapped the truck door, signaling the pickup driver to start the engine and turning on the switch of the water purifier.
The water purifier started operating normally, and strands of filtered clear water slowly trickled out.