Survival Queen of the Frozen Wastes novel Chapter 8

She couldn't help but curse under her breath at the gleaming faucet.

It was like blowing your entire savings on a brand new truck, only to show up at the dealership and find out the engine was sold separately—and it cost as much as the truck itself.

"Another five scrap steel? And sealant on top of that?"

Riley could feel her blood pressure climbing.

She'd just dumped every piece of scrap steel she had into building that fancy little outhouse. And now she found out the toilet, the shower, and the sink were all completely useless. Decoration. Nothing but decoration.

"Scam artists. The whole system's nothing but a bunch of scam artists."

Still fuming, Riley stomped out of the outhouse and kicked at a clump of snow on the ground.

If she'd known this was some kind of bait-and-switch bundle deal, she never would've jumped the gun. Sure, she'd have to build the water system eventually, but eventually wasn't right now.

Now? Scrap steel reserves: zero. Hot shower dreams: dead.

"Ugh..."

Riley stood there in the cold wind for a few minutes, letting herself cool down and think things through.

Yeah, she'd been ripped off. But she still wanted that hot shower more than anything.

In a world where you could feel frozen solid even sitting right next to a fire, the thought of standing under steaming hot water was practically paradise.

"Scrap steel..."

"Alright. The only real currency I've got left, besides wood, is those remaining Beef Stew MREs."

She was running low on wood herself. Besides, after the bloodbath of the first day, the survivors still standing were the ones capable enough to chop their own wood. Wood was depreciating fast—everyone had two hands, and if you were willing to work, you could always gather more. But food? Especially ready-to-eat, high-calorie meals that actually tasted like real food? That was the real scarcity.

"Guess I'm trading the MREs for scrap steel. I already got a taste. Sacrifices have to be made."

Decision made.

Riley headed back into the warm main room, sat down on the bed, and pulled up the "Server Channel" again.

It was dinner time, so the channel was a little more active than during the day. Plus, with the system handing out compensation food earlier, people weren't quite as desperate as before.

"Man, that was brutal. Almost got mauled by some kind of wolf thing earlier. Barely made it back. My legs are still numb. When does this nightmare end?"

"Did you guys see that 'SpicyBurger' chick? She upgraded to a Level 2 shelter today. Bet she's living it up in there right now."

"Ugh, don't even mention her. Pisses me off just thinking about it. We're out here freezing our asses off and she's probably eating like a queen."

"Give it a rest, dude. The system handed out launch rewards today. We've got white bread for the next few days. Tasteless, sure, but way better than that brick-hard black bread from before."

Reading through the chatter, Riley raised an eyebrow.

"Pretty sharp instincts," she muttered.

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