Chapter 4

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Seeing the clean water in Zhou Yuan’s hands, their eyes lit up and they kept swallowing.

One had to know that water was harder to obtain than food at this stage.

To the human body, water was more important than food.

From a personal point of view, thirst was more unbearable than hunger.

Therefore, when they saw the clean water in Zhou Yuan’s hands, everyone’s body had a huge reaction and they all wanted to drink to their heart’s content.

Zhou Yuan could not help but sneer when he saw his classmates ‘expressions.

He could still clearly remember the time when he was about to die of thirst. These students were disdainful and indifferent as if he was nothing!

Now, they wanted to drink his water for free?

Absolutely impossible!

Zhou Yuan’s sneer caused the few of them to shift their gazes away from the water bottle with great difficulty and turned to look at the owner of the bottle.

Only then did they realize that the owner of the bottle of water was Zhou Yuan.

This made everyone’s heart skip a beat.

Zhou Yuan had once been despised and looked down upon by them because of his lack of physical strength.

And now… He had actually obtained such a good water resource?

How the tables have turned.

Thinking of this, everyone had mixed feelings.

However, the complicated emotions did not last long. Everyone began to show flattering expressions.

As the saying goes, whoever feeds you is your mother. One is to put their loyalties where their interests lie.

To them, Zhou Yuan, who had water, was closer to them than their father.

“Brother Zhou! Let me have a sip, just one sip! I’m dying of thirst!”

“Brother Zhou, you even copied my homework when we were in school. It’s not too much to give a friend a sip of water, right?”

“I’m begging you, Zhou Yuan, please give me some water to drink! I’m really going to die of dehydration!”

“Brother Zhou, as long as you let me drink water, I’ll do anything for you!”

“……”

At this moment, everyone seemed to have turned into a dog, wagging their tail and begging him for a mouthful of water.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Yuan once again experienced the cruelty of this era and the preciousness of resources.

However, Zhou Yuan did not show a trace of pity in the face of his former classmates’ pleading.

Putting aside the fact that this group of people had once been indifferent and looked down on him, he would not be a good person even if they had not.

If he was to be a generous person now, he would be the one who would be harmed in the end.

After sizing up his classmates, Zhou Yuan coldly said,

“If you want water, you have to exchange it with your things. Otherwise, there’s no room for negotiation!”

The six of them were stunned.

Exchange something for the water? This was normal.

After all, the human civilization had collapsed, and all the money had become waste paper.

Even gold and jade were nothing but scrap metal and rocks in the face of survival.

Therefore, everyone returned to the primeval times where they made the most simple trade, bartering.

However… They were Zhou Yuan’s classmates. Did they really need to exchange something for water?

They were already calling him “Brother”, what’s wrong with giving them some water to drink?

Why did he not care about their past relationship?

At this moment, a boy wearing glasses said,

“Zhou Yuan, you can’t be so cold-blooded. We’re all classmates, and we should help each other in times of need!”

With someone taking the lead, the others immediately became motivated.

“Yes, yes, don’t be too selfish. We’re all classmates. Can you bear to see me die of thirst?”

“Zhou Yuan, I see that you have a water bottle in your bag. You must have found quite a lot of water, right? Can you share some with me?”

“In the face of such a disaster, everyone can only survive if they unite. You are too selfish!”

“……”

Zhou Yuan’s expression turned even colder as he thought to himself after hearing these ridiculous words.

“Hehe, just now you were calling me Brother Zhou, but now you’re calling me Zhou Yuan just because I asked you to exchange for the water?”

They changed their attitude so quickly!

Selfish? Who wouldn’t be selfish now?

The selfless people had all died long ago!

When he was dying of thirst, none of them gave him a sip of water!

Must he share the water with them just because he had more in his bag?

What kind of weird logic was this?

Before the war happened, why didn’t he see them go to those rich people and say, “You guys have so much money, share some with me.”

Zhou Yuan could not stop complaining in his heart. These people really made him feel disgusted.

They were clearly selfish people by nature, yet they still insisted on saying that they were selfless and united.

It was really nauseating!

Taking a step back, Zhou Yuan assumed a defensive stance and coldly said,

“Don’t say such ridiculous and childish words. If you don’t plan on exchanging it with something, forget it!”

The six of them looked at each other when they saw Zhou Yuan’s indifferent and cold-blooded appearance.

They had originally wanted to put in a few good words and get some water to drink but they did not expect Zhou Yuan to be so alert.

They were helpless in this situation.

Snatch it?

For these educated students, although civilization had collapsed, they generally would not resort to violence.

Besides, everyone was already very tired and weak. If they were to fight, even if it was one on one, they might be injured.

At this time, injuries were basically the same as death.

Coupled with Zhou Yuan’s posture and the rusty nail in his hand, they immediately gave up on the idea.

In the silence, one of the male students reached into his pocket and took out a lighter. He then asked tentatively,

“Look, can I… exchange this for the water?”

Zhou Yuan took a closer look. A lighter?

He took it and held it in his hand, turned it over to check, and lit it up twice.

On the surface, he was checking if the lighter was usable, but in reality, he was asking the system.

“System, system, how many gold coins can this be exchanged for?”

[Detected a lighter, functional, remaining fuel: 63%!]

[Exchangeable for 100 gold coins!]

Zhou Yuan was overjoyed to hear this.

One had to know that the current system evolution only cost 100 gold coins!

This meant that a lighter could be exchanged for a chance of system evolution.

And the price he had to pay might just be a mouthful of water. This…

A small capital with huge profits!

Although he was very excited, Zhou Yuan’s face remained cold and expressionless.

As a qualified ‘merchant’, he had to be able to hide his emotions.

Otherwise, he would not be able to do business well.

If he revealed a happy expression now, the other party would definitely raise the price.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yuan said without revealing his thoughts,

“I can exchange it for a small cup of water!”

Zhou Yuan made a gesture. A small cup was actually just a sip.

Hearing this, the male student frowned and said in dissatisfaction,

“This lighter of mine is undamaged, and there’s still a lot of oil inside!”

“I can use it many, many times, and you’re only exchanging this little bit of water for me?”

Zhou Yuan showed an impatient expression and handed the lighter back.

“Are you going to make this exchange or not? I don’t really care even if you don’t!”

In the city ruins, it was much easier to obtain a tinder.

There were many large fires burning in many places that had not been extinguished yet.

Therefore, a fire source was not rare.

This was also the reason why Zhou Yuan was so surprised that a lighter could be exchanged for 100 gold coins.

It was also the reason why Zhou Yuan was so fearless.

It was up to the male student whether he wanted to make this exchange or not. He was the one begging him for water anyway.

Seeing this, the male student licked his dry lips and hurriedly said,

“Exchange, exchange, exchange!”