Chapter 99: Supplies and Multiple Skill Books
Su Ning received a trade message from Song Ping’an.
In the message, Song Ping’an got straight to the point and asked:
“Miss Su, may I ask what kind of deal you have in mind for these incredibly valuable blue crystal ores?”
Su Ning didn’t beat around the bush and clearly stated her terms:
“I would like each shelter to provide me with at least one skill book and a small quantity of supplies in exchange.”
She had thought this through beforehand and felt that her request was already quite generous.
After all, the quantity of blue crystal ore involved in this trade was staggering. It wasn’t just a few dozen pieces—each shelter would need to hand over a significant amount. The scale was jaw-dropping.
What she was offering was practically a giveaway.
When Song Ping’an heard Su Ning’s conditions, he couldn’t help but feel a sharp pain in his jaw—figuratively.
However, after carefully thinking it over, he had to admit that Su Ning’s proposal was actually quite fair. In fact, she was taking a substantial loss.
After all, blue crystal ore held tremendous value and a wide range of uses. Each piece was crucial for a shelter’s survival, capable of significantly reducing the threat of extreme cold.
Even though meeting the terms of the trade meant gathering at least 24 skill books and various supplies, when divided among all the shelters, it was still within acceptable limits.
So, Song Ping’an nodded and agreed without hesitation:
“No problem, Miss Su. Please rest assured—we will do our utmost to gather everything you require for the trade as quickly as possible.”
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a day had passed.
In that time, Su Ning got exactly what she wanted.
Meanwhile, each shelter also received their share of the precious blue crystal ore obtained from the deal with Su Ning through Song Ping’an.
As if connected by some unspoken understanding, all the shelters began to take swift action almost simultaneously. They planned to upgrade their facilities on a large scale before the next wave of extreme cold arrived.
At the Sixth Shelter, Su Ning keenly noticed all the activity going on around her.
However, she had still underestimated the creativity and resourcefulness of the other shelters when it came to using the rare blue crystal ore.
Take the Fourth Shelter, for instance—they ingeniously converted the ore into a unique blue crystal paint. This paint not only retained the original properties of the blue crystal but actually amplified its effects.
“Amazing. Who would’ve thought so many brilliant minds were hiding in these shelters, capable of inventing something this incredible?” Su Ning couldn’t help but marvel.
In fact, the genius behind this innovation at the Fourth Shelter wasn’t even a professional scientist or researcher. He was just a painter—but one with the grinding skill.
When he learned that the shelter planned to embed blue crystal ore into the exterior walls to fight the cold, he felt it was too extravagant and wasteful.
So, using his exceptional grinding talent, he carefully ground the blue crystal into fine powder and refined it further, ultimately creating this ingenious anti-cold paint.
The paint worked almost as well as the raw ore itself—a revolutionary breakthrough.
Compared to chunks of ore, this new paint offered unparalleled advantages: Easy to use and apply, quick to set up, effective on both interior and exterior walls and a single coat created a protective barrier
Despite all the buzz around these developments, Su Ning didn’t focus on them.
She was eager to inspect the supplies and skill books she had received from the trade, wanting to see what kind of treasures she had gained.
“If every shelter provided one skill book, then I now have 24 books… plus all the additional supplies.”
Looking over everything nearly gave her a headache—there was just so much.
There were many types of skills, ranging widely.
After a quick scan, Su Ning found that some of them were fairly basic lifestyle skills, such as: Sewing, warm Hands (a heat-enhancing utility skill) and painting.
So why had she accepted all of them without complaint?
Because the logic was simple:
Some skills weren’t meant for her alone.
Zombies Number 1 through 5 were once players. Even though they had been turned into zombies by Su Ning, they still retained the ability to learn and use skills.
Su Ning planned to carefully select the most suitable skills from the collection for each of them.
Of course, she wouldn’t leave herself out—she would pick a few powerful ones for her own use as well.
What surprised Su Ning the most was the variety and quality of the supplies provided by each shelter.
She couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow, I really underestimated the resources these shelters are sitting on.”
First up was the wealthy and bold First Shelter, which generously gifted two whole crates of powerful weapons and explosives—no duds, all high-damage bombs.
“As expected of the First Shelter. Hardcore as always. Their ‘supplies’ are weapons!”
Meanwhile, the other shelters each had their own flair:
Sixth Shelter: Donated a good amount of food
Eleventh Shelter: Contributed fresh fruit and canned goods
Thirteenth Shelter: Sent rare seafood products—a true rarity in such times
Fifteenth Shelter: Delivered a massive stock of dried meat
And so on—each contribution had its own unique flavor.
Su Ning was particularly intrigued by the Thirteenth Shelter.
“So they really are doing aquaculture? Looks like that rumor wasn’t false after all.
It’s said one of their players has water element powers—able to create water at will.”
She remembered that during the recent natural disaster, that very player had openly advertised a water shop in the communication channel, offering water to others.
Su Ning pulled out a snack pack from the Third Shelter’s supplies and popped one into her mouth.
Somehow, eating something like this again made her feel like a long time had passed.
“I really hope life starts getting better from now on.”
Taking a deep breath, she got to work on assigning the skills.
First, she picked two suitable skills for herself:
[Disguise]: A skill that allows one to alter their physical appearance at will—tall, short, fat, thin, beautiful, ugly—anything was possible.
This ability would be a major asset in combat, especially when combined with her mysterious Phantom Orb.
When used together, she could unleash a powerful and deceptive technique known as “Ghost Blind,” which could catch enemies completely off guard.
[Stealth]: Allows the user to blend seamlessly into their surroundings, greatly lowering their presence.
Even hyper-alert enemies would find it hard to detect her.
With this skill, she could move through dangerous dungeons or enemy encounters more safely and strategically.
Next came skill assignments for her zombie squad:
[Zombie No.1]
Talent: Bullet Storm
Skills: Energy Boost, Close Combat, Pickpocketing, Gun Combat
[Zombie No.2]
Talent: Burrowing
Skills: Hardened Defense, Sand Toss, Ram, Leap
[Zombie No.3]
Talent: Sensing
Skills: Enhanced Senses, Swordsmanship, Night Vision, Howl
[Zombie No.4]
Talent: Cooking
Skills: Warm Hands, Blade Arts, Culinary
[Zombie No.5]
Talent: Weaving
Skills: Thread Manipulation, Sewing, Painting
Of the 24 skill books, most were used on the zombies.
Even Zombies No. 4 and No. 5, who Su Ning still considered support units, had gained considerable combat capabilities.
(End of Chapter)
