Chapter 4 – Principles

Xiao Wuwang directly skipped over the freeloader and first replied to Meichuan Kuzi.

He remembered that Meichuan Kuzi was the one who had been taking a bath and hadn’t had time to put on clothes before being teleported over. Right now, he was probably the only one who had brought extra clothes.

Wuwang Kuangzun: 【What card? Take a photo and let me see.】

Meichuan Kuzi: 【Image.jpg】

At a glance, Xiao Wuwang’s eyes instantly widened. Without needing to appraise it, he recognized it at once as a primary Quality Enhancement Card.

A primary Quality Enhancement Card could only raise an item from Common Quality to Excellent Quality. In the early stages, this card wasn’t very useful for most people, but for Xiao Wuwang, it was different. Enhancing the Quality by one Grade meant it had a chance to increase its Level by one!

Just look at the difference between a Level 2 Light Steel Axe and a Level 1 Black Iron Heavy Axe—raising the Level by one had a huge impact on Equipment!

Wuwang Kuangzun: 【This card of yours is called a primary Quality Enhancement Card. It can raise an item from Common Quality to Excellent Quality. It only works on items that have a Quality rating, and the improvement from Common to Excellent is quite limited. It’s basically useless in the early stages. I can trade with you, but only for a set of clothes. If you accept, initiate the trade.】

With three years of survival experience, Xiao Wuwang knew that in the future, many Instances that produced high-level resources would require teamwork to conquer. Moreover, in the later stages, when the train’s Level was high, the resources needed for each Level-up could be described as astronomical. Having a faction for support would greatly improve resource-gathering efficiency.

Therefore, in this life, Xiao Wuwang had consciously sought out partners worth cooperating with from the very beginning, aiming to build a core team. If necessary in the future, he might even establish a guild.

This required him to have a sufficient reputation and adhere to principles in his dealings, so as to attract the kind of talent he wanted.

That was why he was straightforward and honest with Meichuan Kuzi.

Meichuan Kuzi remained silent on the other end, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

Xiao Wuwang didn’t rush him and continued chatting with the next person.

This time, he chose Farmer’s Three Punches.

Wuwang Kuangzun: 【What kind of stone? Take a photo and let me see!】

Farmer’s Three Punches: 【Image.jpg】

It was a Fire-Attribute Crystal Stone.

The Fire-Attribute Crystal Stone contained dense fire-attribute energy, which would be immensely useful in the future and was quite valuable.

Xiao Wuwang couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. Farmer’s Three Punches’ luck was actually this good—he had drawn such a precious item right from the start.

Wuwang Kuangzun: 【This stone of yours is called a Fire-Attribute Crystal Stone. In the future, it can be used as a driving energy source and is quite valuable. But in the early stages, that is, before Level 4, it’s basically useless.】

Wuwang Kuangzun: 【If you trade now, I can’t trade with you based on its future value. If you’re willing, you can choose one of these three items.】

Then, Xiao Wuwang sent over pictures of the Bone Cleaver, Cleaver, and Scissors.

After sending them, he temporarily ignored him and opened the Chat Window for “Wangzai Little Brat.”

A Portable Space Expansion Card would be automatically recognized as soon as it was placed into the Portable Space, so there was no need to appraise it to know its properties.

Portable Space Expansion Cards were valuable at any time, especially in the early stages, when their value was even greater.

This player named “Wangzai Little Brat” had actually resisted fusing it immediately and was willing to trade it for information. Clearly, he was someone with ideas, foresight, and strategy.

In his previous life, Xiao Wuwang had also known of this person, who had once appeared on the leaderboard for a period before fading from memory, likely eliminated at some stage.

Wuwang Kuangzun: [I do have some information, and I’d be happy to trade with you. I can guarantee this deal will be more than worth it for you. However, I’ll only share the details after receiving the card. If you have concerns, we can forget it!]

Before Xiao Wuwang could close the chat window, the other party immediately sent a message.

Wangzai Little Brat: [Deal!]

Wangzai Little Brat: [Let’s trade!]

Shortly after, Xiao Wuwang received a mail notification.

Opening the mail, it was indeed from Wangzai Little Brat.

Extracting the attachment, a Basic Portable Space Expansion Card appeared in Xiao Wuwang’s hand.

Without hesitation, he immediately placed it into his portable space.

[Ding!]

[Detected Basic Portable Space Expansion Card. Portable Space +5. Merge?]

[Yes!]

Xiao Wuwang’s portable space instantly expanded to 10 slots!

Finally, Xiao Wuwang replied to Wangzai Little Brat.

Wuwang Kuangzun: [What kind of information are you looking for?]

Wangzai Little Brat: [What kind of world is this? What should I pay attention to in the early stages? Can you explain in detail?]

Wuwang Kuangzun: [I won’t repeat what the system has already introduced. I’ll just add one point.]

Wuwang Kuangzun: [Remember one key word: “survival.” Since this is the Survival World, it means it’s filled with unknown dangers and challenges! Congratulations, you’ll be living in endless brutal competition from now on!]

Wuwang Kuangzun: [To live long and well, you must seize every opportunity to upgrade your train and improve your own strength.]

Wuwang Kuangzun: [Lastly, I’ll give you one more piece of information: Tomorrow at 8 a.m., the train will arrive at the first platform.]

Wuwang Kuangzun: [Everyone’s first platform is the same. The only task at this stop is—chopping trees!]

Wuwang Kuangzun: [Chopping trees yields wood, which is the essential material for upgrading the train from Order 0 to Order 1. The upgrade requires 200 units of wood. Once you’ve collected 200 units, return to the train and upgrade as soon as possible. Because there’s a ranking for upgrades, and the higher your rank, the greater the rewards.]

Wuwang Kuangzun: [Alright, that’s all I have to say!]

On the other side, Wangzai Little Brat, whose real name was Wang Zi, was a young man in his early twenties, tall and thin but with a clever air about him.

After reading Xiao Wuwang’s messages, he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief.

He had bet correctly!

A head start meant staying ahead step by step.

The value of the information Xiao Wuwang provided far exceeded that of a single Basic Space Expansion Card for him.

He clenched his fist, silently noting the favor he owed Xiao Wuwang.

Then he sent a “thank you” and a friend request.

Seeing the friend request, Xiao Wuwang smiled slightly and clicked to accept.

At the same time, he also received replies from the other two.

Meichuan Kuzi: [Big Brother, can’t you add a little more? I really have nothing on me. Please give me a bit more!]

Xiao Wuwang thought for a moment and replied: [I’ll add 500 milliliters of water. You’ll definitely need it tomorrow, but you’ll have to provide your own container.]

Meichuan Kuzi: [Alright, let’s trade!]

Xiao Wuwang immediately placed a short-sleeved T-shirt, a pair of mid-length pants, and about 500 milliliters of water into the trade.

The transaction was successful, and Xiao Wuwang gleefully stored the ‘Primary Quality Enhancement Card’ into his Portable Space.

After completing the deal, Xiao Wuwang continued by opening Farmer’s Three Punches’ chat window.

Farmer’s Three Punches: [I want the Bone Cleaver.]

Wuwang Kuangzun: [A wise choice! I believe you’ll have even fewer regrets tomorrow. Let’s trade!]

Upon receiving the Fire-Attribute Crystal Stone, Xiao Wuwang directly placed it inside the train.

This crystal stone wasn’t needed yet, and the train during the novice period was absolutely safe, so there was no worry about losing items. There was no need to carry it around and take up space.

After handling these normal transactions, Xiao Wuwang finally opened the chat window of “Would Wed the God of Wealth Even as a Concubine.”

Wuwang Kuangzun: [You can state your specific needs. If it’s suitable, we’ll trade.]

Would Wed the God of Wealth Even as a Concubine: [Brother, do you know some inside information? Can you tell me? I’m so scared…]

A flicker of impatience flashed in Xiao Wuwang’s eyes, knowing this was another person trying to get something for nothing.

He had seen plenty of such people in his Previous Life—those who feigned weakness and played the victim in front of others, trying to exploit people’s sympathy for free gains.

Xiao Wuwang directly closed her chat window. He then glanced at the messages sent by others afterward and, finding nothing of value, exited the Chat Room. After organizing his belongings, he found a relatively comfortable spot to lie down and sleep.

There was a tough battle to fight tomorrow, and he needed to use every minute and second to recover from fatigue as quickly as possible.