Jiang Chen contentedly looked at the bottle of sweet dew living spring water in his hand.
The originally unremarkable mineral water, after being amplified in a direction he specified, had its quality directly elevated by several grades. This kind of water, let alone exchanging for a few units of scrap metal, would likely be snatched up even for more precious items.
Next, it was the low-quality compressed biscuit.
Jiang Chen also applied a basic amplification to it in a specified direction, with the goals of: enhancing nutritional value, improving taste, and extending the duration of satiety.
A light flashed.
The originally dark and hard compressed biscuit transformed into a special grade nutritional energy bar, golden in color, emitting a faint aroma of wheat and nuts. It looked incredibly appetizing.
Name: special grade nutritional energy bar (Directional Amplification)
Type: Consumable
Effect: Rapidly restores a large amount of satiety and stamina after consumption, provides comprehensive and balanced nutrition, significantly extends the duration of satiety, and can slightly enhance emotional well-being.
Remarks: A top-tier energy food meticulously formulated and produced with special techniques, it is crispy, sweet, and rich in easily absorbed nutrients. It's your little energy motor for your journey in the apocalypse. Eat one, and half your troubles disappear!
"Enhances emotional well-being? This stuff can even be eaten as a snack?" Jiang Chen exclaimed in wonder.
The effect was even better than the high-energy nutritional bar he had amplified by 2x before, especially in terms of taste and additional effects.
It seemed that directional amplification could indeed bring some unexpected surprises.
"Alright, the bait is ready. Next, it's time to choose the lucky leeks." Jiang Chen's face showed a simple (and cunning) smile like an old farmer's.
He looked again at the trade information Zero had filtered out.
Soon, he locked onto a seller with the ID 'Wasteland Scavenger 007'.
This seller's trade information was: "Large amount of scrap metal (approx. 50 units), small amount of dry wood (approx. 10 units), bundled for sufficient food and drinking water, prioritizing water! Brothers with coordinates starting with K, private message me!"
"50 units of scrap metal, 10 units of wood, the quantity is decent." Jiang Chen nodded.
Moreover, the other party explicitly stated prioritizing water, which was exactly what he wanted.
He sent an encrypted communication request to this Wasteland Scavenger 007 via the train's communication system.
"Commander, an encrypted communication request has been sent to the target Wasteland Scavenger 007 (Train ID K7788)," Zero's voice sounded.
Jiang Chen's train control panel, because it was equipped with a multi-functional strategic target acquisition and communication system, could directly see the other party's train ID, which was very convenient.
A few seconds later.
Target has accepted the communication request, encrypted channel established.
A slightly hoarse and tired young male voice came from the control panel's loudspeaker: "Hello? Who is this, brother? Do you need scrap metal and wood?"
The voice carried a hint of wariness and anticipation.
Jiang Chen cleared his throat and said in a steady yet slightly magnetic voice: "It's me. I saw your trade information, and I'm very interested in the scrap metal and wood you have."
To avoid revealing his true identity, he deliberately lowered his voice, making it sound more mature and stable.
High-end hunters often appear as prey.
"That's great!" The other party's tone clearly relaxed a lot. "Brother, what are you planning to trade with? I'm telling you, this batch of goods I have is definitely ample, all painstakingly dragged out of an abandoned factory."
"I have high-quality drinking water and energy food here," Jiang Chen said unhurriedly. "The water is specially purified living spring water, sweet to the taste, and can effectively replenish stamina and trace elements. The food is a specially made nutritional energy bar that not only quickly fills your stomach but also provides comprehensive nutrition, and the taste is quite good."
He didn't directly state the full names and heaven-defying properties of the sweet dew living spring water and special grade nutritional energy bar, only briefly describing their effects and taste, but it was enough to pique the other party's interest.
Sure enough, Wasteland Scavenger 007's breathing on the other end of the line clearly became heavier.
"High-quality drinking water? Specially made energy bar?" He swallowed, probing, "Brother, what you're saying... how high-quality is it? Can... can you elaborate?"
In the apocalypse, food and water are hard currency, especially clean, high-quality drinking water, which is incredibly precious. Many people drank muddy, foul-smelling water, or could only rely on the pitiful supplies from their beginner's gift package to get by.
"How about this," Jiang Chen smiled slightly, "I can provide you with a sample first. You can experience it yourself. If you're satisfied, then we can discuss the trade details."
With that, he took out a small amount of sweet dew living spring water (about 100 milliliters, contained in a small water pouch) and a small piece of special grade nutritional energy bar from his backpack.
"Commander, would you like to send samples to the other party via the inter-train basic material transmission channel? This channel is limited to transmitting small-volume, low-value, non-hazardous basic materials, and each transmission incurs a small energy cost," Zero prompted.
"Basic material transmission channel?" Jiang Chen was momentarily stunned; he hadn't noticed this function of the train before.
It seemed that after installing the Intelligent Control Core, many hidden functions of the train had been activated.
"Transmit!" Jiang Chen said without hesitation.
Being able to trade remotely would be incredibly convenient and safer.
A faint blue light lit up from a certain position on the control panel, and the water pouch and energy bar sample in Jiang Chen's hand instantly disappeared.
A few seconds later.
"Gulp... Ha... This water! This water is too delicious!" From the other end of the line came Wasteland Scavenger 007's voice, filled with surprise and joy, accompanied by sounds of large gulps and satisfied sighs.
"And this energy bar! Oh my god! Is this really a taste that can come from a compressed biscuit? It's so fragrant! And... I feel full of strength!"
Clearly, Jiang Chen's bait was highly effective.
Jiang Chen's face showed a 'plan successful' smile as he waited patiently.
After quite a while, the other party finally calmed his excited emotions, his tone filled with awe and longing: "Brother! Your water and energy bar are simply divine! I... I want it all! No, what I mean is, I'll trade all my scrap metal and wood for them! What do you say?"
His tone was almost pleading.
It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality.
After experiencing the top-tier supplies provided by Jiang Chen, asking him to drink that muddy water and chew those hard-to-swallow compressed biscuits again would be torture.
"Heh heh, no problem," Jiang Chen said with a faint smile. "Since you're satisfied, let's discuss the trade ratio."
The subsequent process went very smoothly.
Jiang Chen easily exchanged 1 bottle of 500ml of "sweet dew living spring water" and 2 "special grade nutritional energy bars" for all of the other party's 50 units of scrap metal and 10 units of dry wood.
Considering the inherent value of the materials, Jiang Chen could be said to have made a huge profit from this trade ratio!
But for Wasteland Scavenger 007, he felt he had also made a big profit! Because he exchanged a pile of temporarily useless junk for life-saving high-quality food and water!
Both parties were very satisfied, a win-win situation.
Trade completed. Scrap metal x50, dry wood x10 have been stored in your train's storage space, Zero prompted.
Jiang Chen glanced at the newly appeared storage space icon on the control panel screen; it indeed showed two new piles of materials. This storage space seemed to be automatically included after the Intelligent Control Core was activated, and its capacity was not small.
"Very good," Jiang Chen nodded with satisfaction.
The first round of 'leek harvesting' was very successful.
Next, he followed suit, contacting several other survivors who had posted similar trade information.
Relying on the high-quality food and drinking water amplified by Infinite Amplification in his hands, Jiang Chen almost swept the basic materials market in the regional chat channel with a dimension-reducing strike.
Without exception, those survivors, after tasting the divine water and divine food provided by Jiang Chen, showed expressions of shock and ecstasy, then eagerly exchanged their painstakingly collected basic materials for them with Jiang Chen.
They would even proactively raise their offers, fearing that Jiang Chen wouldn't trade with them.
For a time, the quantity of various basic materials like scrap metal, wood, rags, and rubber sheets in Jiang Chen's train storage space surged upwards.
What he paid was merely a few bottles of amplified mineral water and a few pieces of amplified compressed biscuits.
Cost? Almost negligible!
"This feeling of harvesting leeks... it's really a bit addictive," Jiang Chen leaned back in his seat, a smile he couldn't suppress playing on his lips.
He didn't even leave his carriage; with just a few words and taps on the control panel, a large amount of resources automatically came to him.
Wasn't this the 'lying flat' life he had always dreamed of?
Of course, he wasn't indiscriminate.
For some sellers with bad attitudes or those trying to take advantage, Jiang Chen simply couldn't be bothered.
He was here to harvest leeks, not to be a sucker.
While frantically acquiring goods, Jiang Chen also noticed that discussions about him, this mysterious supplier of high-quality materials, gradually increased in the regional chat channel.
"Have you guys traded with a big shot? His water and food are absolutely amazing!"
"I got a bottle of water, and after drinking it, I felt completely energized! A hundred times better than the muddy soup I drank before!"
"The big shot is too low-key; he disappears after the trade, and I can't find him if I want to trade for more."
"I heard the big shot only collects basic materials. I wonder if he accepts energy cores?"
Jiang Chen smiled slightly as he watched these discussions.
Maintaining a sense of mystery allows for better leek harvesting, after all.
Moreover, he had almost collected enough basic materials now; it was time for the next step of his plan—upgrading the train!
He glanced at his attribute panel; he still had 7 basic amplification opportunities left today, as well as that one precious special amplification opportunity.
"Zero, based on the materials we currently have, which module should be prioritized for upgrade to maximize our survival capability and... comfort?" Jiang Chen asked.
He specifically emphasized comfort.
After all, his ultimate goal was to lie flat and enjoy the apocalypse.
"Commander, based on existing materials and your needs, it is recommended to prioritize upgrading:"
1. Power Engine Improvement: Enhances train performance to cope with potential pursuits or quickly escape dangerous areas.
2. Fuel Tank Expansion: Increases cruising range and reduces the frequency of searching for fuel.
3. Manufacturing Module Reinforcement: Improves basic item manufacturing efficiency and the variety of items that can be manufactured, laying the foundation for future living module expansion.
All of the above upgrades can be completed using existing materials.
Zero quickly provided professional advice.
Jiang Chen glanced at the list of materials required for the upgrades; the scrap metal and wood he had just acquired through 'leek harvesting', plus the energy cores he had previously obtained, were just enough to complete these three upgrades.
"Very good, do as you say!" Jiang Chen waved his hand.
"First, upgrade the power engine!"