His poverty forced Li Ke to sell some of the items he had brought along. He had picked up things that were easy to carry, like a toaster, hoping they might fetch some money from the merchant. He was disappointed, however. All the things he brought were only worth about ten Duke's Casino Tokens, completely worthless to carry. Surprisingly, pebbles were quite valuable; ten pebbles could be sold.
"So this game is like Minecraft? Mining and chopping trees are essential?" Li Ke nodded. What's the big deal about manual labor? With his stone axe from the system, he'd mine! He wasn't afraid of a little work.
"It looks like we can't buy anything," Erina Nakiri said, opening and then immediately closing the merchant's item list. She knew they were too broke to afford anything there.
"It looks like we'll have to put in a lot of effort to scavenge," Li Ke said, and a plan instantly formed in his mind. "Let's go back and set up our base tonight. Tomorrow morning, we'll collect food, and in the afternoon, we'll chop trees and dig for stone to stock up on our casino tokens and improve our defenses."
Li Ke made his plans, and Erina Nakiri didn't object. It was almost dark, and once night fell, the zombies would become terrifyingly fast. Even though she could fight them now, she had no intention of battling zombies that ran as fast as Usain Bolt. But at the thought of going back, a smile appeared on Erina Nakiri's face.
"I can show you my cooking skills tonight!" Thinking of the seasonings she had collected, Erina Nakiri couldn't help but smile. Even though Spam would never taste great no matter how she cooked it, they had managed to get some canned peas and chicken. With these seasonings, she was confident she could make a good stew for Li Ke! And she would be able to eat without feeling so disgusted, as honey was now a strategic resource and couldn't be eaten casually.
"Of course! I've been looking forward to your food!" Li Ke smiled and nodded. Erina Nakiri was a character from a food-themed manga, and Li Ke had been curious about how good her cooking would be since the very beginning. However, they were limited by their circumstances before and were both afraid of the zombies, so they hadn't started a fire. But now that they knew there was an antidote for the zombie virus, they didn't have to worry about it.
"Hmph! Just you wait!" Erina Nakiri smiled, and they walked back toward the RV. On their way back, Li Ke discovered a gas station. The canopy of the gas station was made entirely of steel, and the four pillars were solid iron. Li Ke looked at the perfectly flat canopy and couldn't help but think. If they needed to get up there, it wouldn't be too difficult; they could just use the wooden frames as a ladder and then take them back, preventing the zombies from getting up.
"Would building a defensive base here be safer than the RV?" Li Ke kept the thought in mind but didn't say it out loud yet. He still felt that a vehicle was more reliable. He looked around and saw a car repair shop not far from the gas station. He thought about it and decided to explore it with Erina tomorrow to see if they could find wheels for the RV. While the crafting system had recipes for wheels, Li Ke wasn't sure if the system-crafted wheels would be suitable for the RV, so it was better to be prepared.
The two quickly returned to the RV. After checking the area for any zombies, Li Ke and Erina washed their hands with some found soap and a bottle of water and began to prepare dinner. Erina Nakiri skillfully built a campfire, set up a simple cooking station, and took the kettle out of the house to use as a pot. The two sat by the campfire, watching the sun set and the food bubbling in the pot.
Li Ke had to admit that in Erina Nakiri's hands, the cheap Spam and old seasonings truly worked wonders. She effortlessly removed the taste of cheap chemicals from the meat through stewing and seasoning, constantly refining and purifying the truly delicious parts. In the past, she would never have made such "commoner's food," as such a meal would not satisfy her God's Tongue. But now, smelling the mixture of chemicals and low-quality ingredients, and watching Li Ke focus on his crafting list, Erina Nakiri couldn't help but smile. The smell of the food was no longer so unbearable.
She looked at the distant forest, where she had seen a lot of blueberries and flowers. She had collected some on their way back to use as seasonings and for tea later. But that wasn't what she was thinking about. "If we can find seeds for potatoes, wheat, and corn, Li Ke and I can plant a large field here and live a life without worrying about food, right?" The fact that there were only two of them, the possibility of not being able to go back, and her desire for good ingredients as a chef made her think of these things. Although she still wasn't used to this food and wanted to vomit because of her overly sensitive tongue, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about it.
Li Ke was a good person for being willing to save her that day, and he had a great attitude. He was just a little too ordinary and not handsome, just average. But it was this person... who had helped her escape her state of fear and avoidance. Erina Nakiri was surprised herself. She had been running and fearing just yesterday, but today she had personally chopped off the heads of a dozen zombies.
"Maybe it's because Li Ke is so ordinary? Seeing a normal person like him being able to do it... made me, who considers herself outstanding, calm down." She couldn't help but think that the most crucial reason was Li Ke's calm and accepting attitude, which had a calming effect on her as well. "Live each day to the fullest? Oh, please. Living each day like it's your last is such a cliché, it's useless!" An angry Erina poked the pot twice. The noise didn't wake Li Ke up. He was focused on scrolling through his crafting list.
"I can even craft a auger, and even planes and cars. And the workbench…" Li Ke frowned at the items required to craft a workbench. The only way for them to survive better in this world was to rely on this system, but it seemed they couldn't do any serious projects without a workbench. They could only make simple things like clothes and shoes made from fiber, bows and arrows, and stone tools and weapons. This included things like stone spears. But with a workbench, they could basically craft anything. There was also a furnace, and items like iron ingots would clearly be crafted there. But the problem was that both of these items were locked. The two unlock conditions were Advanced Engineer and Blueprint.
Li Ke didn't know if he needed both conditions to unlock them or just one, but what was clear was that he didn't have a way to access them since he hadn't unlocked the skills system yet.
"So the only option is the pipe machine gun?" Li Ke pursed his lips. He didn't know how to unlock skills. His current guess was that he had to kill as many zombies as possible, but close-quarters combat was too dangerous. With guns, if he couldn't craft a large number of bullets in a furnace, then firearms weren't very reliable for clearing out large groups of zombies.
"This is really troublesome…" Li Ke continued to scroll through the crafting tab and then found something. "Gunpowder…" Li Ke took a look. Gunpowder could be made in a few ways. For example, gunpowder made with a chemical station was a combination of coal powder and nitrate powder. However, if he were to craft it by hand, he would need twice the amount of materials to make one.
"So, I can craft gunpowder even without a workbench?" Li Ke looked at the gunpowder and the bullets that required a workbench to be crafted, and a gradually deranged smile appeared on his face. "So why don't I just make my own landmines and Molotov cocktails?" If Li Ke remembered correctly, Molotov cocktails were very simple to make. He just needed to get some flammable liquid and throw it. But regular gasoline wasn't very effective and could easily be put out.
But who was he fighting? He wasn't fighting people; he was fighting zombies with no intelligence! Even if he encountered a large group of zombies, he could just pour a large barrel of gasoline and set it on fire. The zombies would all burn!
There was just one thing. "My own safety." Li Ke felt a contradiction. If they encountered a large group of zombies, he and Erina Nakiri would have to hide in the gas station. The RV was too small, and if it wasn't repaired, there would be no chance of escape. But starting a fire in a gas station… To be honest, it was just too thrilling. Li Ke had never thought of such a crazy way to play. He knew that a cigarette butt could cause a fire there. Even though it was old, who knew how much gasoline was still inside, and Li Ke couldn't read English.
"This is really troublesome." Li Ke shook his head. He then saw Erina Nakiri lift the kettle of stew, place it on the grass, and then put a metal can on the fire to boil water for tea.
"Come on, try my cooking!" Erina Nakiri smiled as she served the food. The rich aroma made Li Ke's mouth water. He quickly grabbed a bowl and began to eat eagerly. The moment the food entered his mouth, Li Ke felt an unimaginable deliciousness. He had eaten all kinds of Spam before, but this was the first time he had ever thought it was delicious!
"This is truly… amazing cooking! Erina! You are really incredible!" Li Ke couldn't help but praise her, and Erina showed an expression that said she deserved all the praise, proudly raising her head. "Hmph! Of course! But you commoners only have this kind of taste. When we get back, I'll show you what kind of ingredients can truly bring out my skills!" She didn't mean to look down on Li Ke. It was just that she genuinely didn't like using low-quality ingredients to make food. Trash like Spam was not worthy of becoming an ingredient in her hands! Erina Nakiri couldn't understand why people would like to eat something that was just a mixture of starch and additives to make things people didn't like to eat palatable. Most importantly, a lot of Spam didn't even contain meat! It was just a taste created with chemicals and was essentially a ball of starch! She just couldn't bring herself to like such a deceptive food.
"Well… this is already amazing enough for me…" Li Ke took a bite and felt his whole body warm up. He felt much more relaxed and felt a spiritual satisfaction. This was a feeling he had never experienced with any other food! Although the dish Erina Nakiri made wasn't the most delicious he had ever eaten, the special effect it had made him groan and, in his mind, a warm vision of a family farm appeared. He was the man of the house, working in the fields during the day and coming home at night to his wife's smiling face and home-cooked meals. After his young and beautiful wife had prepared dinner, they would bathe together. The warm water would constantly stimulate his body, and as their bodies rubbed against each other, the smooth skin made him want to do "things." His wife's chest was very full. Just as Li Ke was about to continue to enjoy it, the scene suddenly ended. He awoke from his illusion and found that the story hadn't ended; he had just finished the food in his bowl!
"As expected of the Spirit of Aphrodisiac…" He silently put down his bowl and chopsticks and bent over, trying to change his expression from one of lust, lechery, and embarrassment to a calm one. But the heat in his body told him that things weren't that simple.
"To be honest, this is completely magical." Li Ke looked at Erina, who was eating the food that had put him into a trance with an unbearable expression, and sighed. He then silently took out a bottle of honey. "Want to wash it down with this?" Erina immediately narrowed her eyes. "Are you looking down on me? This is an important resource!" She was very unhappy, but the unpalatable food made her body crave sugar.
Seeing her miserable face, Li Ke still smiled and handed the honey over. He really meant it. As long as they weren't too unlucky, they wouldn't encounter a situation where they were infected and had no way to be cured.
"Anyway, the merchant has other medicines for sale, right? And it's not like we can't find more…" Erina hesitated, then took the honey. But instead of opening it, she put it directly into her inventory and turned her head away angrily. "I'm not as stupid as you!" Li Ke felt a little ashamed and didn't say anything else, but it wasn't because he had given away a strategic resource. It was because... he was having "those" thoughts again because of Erina's chest and thighs, and the pain of hitting his head.